Tokens
by Roja-Cyd
Summary: Ranma and Akane were born as pawns in a game of desert kings. M for nudity and adult situations
1. Prologue

**TEASER**

King Genma would have dragged her down the stairs if he hadn't been stopped by his councilors.

"I shall drown your brat myself!" he promised. But the councilors all came from old families, and believed it was bad luck to kill the royal firstborn child.

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**Prologue**

Once upon a time, in a land where Djinn still ruled the wastelands, and magic carpets traversed the skies, where caravans of goods-laden camels guarded by sharp-eyed soldiers plodded across vast sand dunes, the desert kingdoms of Jin and Jiya fought a long and bloody war. Built of marble and limestone and two weeks apart by camel, Jin and Jiya were known as the Twin Claws of the desert, poised to attack any intruder from without.

Larger than their neighbours, they guarded the entrance to the southern arm of Sidon, and behind them clustered the smaller cities of Cantos, Parth and Jira. Until a king of Jin had stolen a royal bride of Jiya, they had been allies. The war had gone on for seven generations when the old king of Jiya grew ill and his son, Genma, was called to the king's deathbed.

"Finally," the stout Prince breathed. "The fool is dead!" Genma stared down distastefully at the wasted form of his father, the dead King. He himself was a warrior, first and foremost, but it was very much to his taste to be accountable to no one.

He'd been summoned from battle so urgently that his clothes were still dusty and the smell of blood was still coppery in his nostrils. But it was worth it to stand there and watch the old fool pass away and know that he, Genma, was now King.

The old king's councilors looked upon the face of their new king and trembled inwardly. Genma was known as a cruel and merciless prince and already acknowledged as a ruthless warrior on the battlefield. They feared to see him rule their prosperous kingdom.

"Will you stay to govern after the Coronation, my lord?" asked Tofu, the Royal Chief Councilor, hesitantly.

"Of course! It should be a pleasant diversion from battle," Genma laughed. He looked around the spacious bedchamber, at the oriental silk tapestries adorning the carved wooden walls, and the thick Persian carpets underfoot. Burning incense from a brazier of coals at the foot of the enormous royal bed permeated the room with the smell of myrrh, the spice for the dead.

He squinted at the window, where harsh, white sunlight poured in. Of course, he'd rather be back in the heat of battle, seated on the back of his giant black warhorse as it churned the hot sand beneath its hooves, enemies falling as he scythed through them with his scimitar like they were grass.

Nevertheless, he would assume the throne of Jiya. He smiled slowly. A king's power would doubtless be as heady as war. He could bide his time. First, he would enjoy his kingdom.

King Genma was skilled with the sword and in kenpo, though after his coronation, it was the pursuit of the latter that began to consume much of his thoughts. The Saotome kings of Jiya and the Tendo kings of Jin together had created the Anything Goes style of kenpo. Now, of course, they practiced their craft separately.

At any rate, being strong of arm and sound of mind (he had not run naked in the courtyard like his grandfather), but above all being the king, Genma did not find it too hard to pick a bride as his councilors advised.

The lady Nodoka caught his eye at a ball held for just such a purpose. A bevy of ladies dressed in every shade of silk or satin had already paraded themselves before the king, who surveyed them all coolly from the vantage point of his high throne, surrounded by the councilors. None had caught his eye as yet.

Genma sat up. "Who is that?" he asked. The councilors strained to see which beauty might have caught the King's interest.

As Nodoka's tall, slim form swayed on her partner's arm in the dance of the Jiyan court, her shapely form clothed in diamond studded veils, her hair flowing like flame around her creamy shoulders, Genma followed her movements with his eyes and imagined her in his bed.

"She's already engaged, Majesty," said Kalamari, one of the royal councilors. "Andrei Mori and she have been betrothed for years."

Genma sat back with a gleaming smile. "IS she? We'll see about that."

The next day, a pale and protesting young Count Mori was escorted by an armed guard to the palace in chains and charged with treason. He was summarily found guilty and beheaded that very night. His head adorned the palace gates the next morning, much to the grief of his family and friends.

Genma and Nodoka were married with great pomp and ceremony the following week.

The beautiful King and the young Queen lived well enough in the palace, Genma leaving the governing of the country to his councilors and focusing on his martial arts, Nodoka acting as chatelaine of the palace. If Nodoka's form seemed frailer as she glided like a wraith through the white marble halls, and her dark eyes sometimes haunted, none dared to voice any opinion on why that might be.

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Eventually, as happens in the life of many a married couple, Nodoka grew heavy with child. The news was announced from the palace walls, and there was rejoicing in the city. Genma was jubilant.

"An heir! I shall have a son to carry on the Saotome style of fighting," he crowed. Only a son would prove that he, Genma, was truly a man. A son to train, to be his heir...

One late evening, Nodoka gave birth to a girl.

Genma screamed when he heard the news. He strode up the stairs to the birthing chamber and dragged his bloody, exhausted wife from childbed in his rage. She fell moaning to the ground, her hands clawing at the rich Aubusson carpet until she fainted from sheer exhaustion and terror. The king would have dragged her down the stairs if he hadn't been stopped by his councilors.

"I shall drown your brat myself!" he promised. But the councilors came from old families, and believed it was bad luck to kill the royal firstborn child.

"Leave the Queen, your Majesty," they pleaded. "The child is valuable. It will gain you lands and armies if you sell it to an ally. It will only strengthen your bonds with them." The councilors did not dare to refer to the child by its sex for fear of sending Genma into another rage.

"Bah! Take it from my sight then. I don't want to see it until it is grown and can be sold!"

So the babe was named Kasumi and taken away to be cared for by the queen's handmaidens. The Queen dared only to nurse her child herself and left it to the handmaidens at all other times.

-------------------------------------------

In a different palace, far away to the west, a young man, hardly more than a boy in appearance, sat musing on his enormous throne. Kunou, descendant of the Tatewaki kings of Dara, was tall and dark-haired. Dressed in long golden robes and wearing a long-sleeved golden glove on his left hand, he had a sinister beauty, like that of the spider in its web.

His features were noble and he was fair of complexion. Only the large, dark eyes showed a coldness that hinted of cruelty. The gaze of those dark eyes fell to contemplate the servant that had just crawled forward to the middle of the throne room.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice warm and velvety. Anyone hearing that voice for the first time would be charmed by its warmth and timbre.

"O Golden One, Happousai is here," said the servant, bowing to the floor.

The young king smirked and glanced to his right, where a man in white oriental robes, with long dark hair, seemingly little older than the king himself, stood smiling. The young man tilted his head so his large, round spectacles glinted opaque in the light.

"It looks like the wily old rat has fallen for the cheese, Mousse," Kunou said. "I really admit that I'm surprised."

"I was sure he would respond, my lord," Mousse replied. He turned his head slightly, and now one could see that his leaf-green eyes glinted with pleasure. "We sent a strong invitation. And we offer him a great prize."

"But does he have the patience to grasp it at the right moment? He is already old."

"The old have learned patience, my lord."

Kunou pondered his advisor for a moment. "This has to work, Mousse! Very well. Bring him in!"

The little man who was ushered into the throne-room was so short that at first, both the men on the raised dais thought that Happosai was a dwarf. On closer inspection, they realized he was merely very, very short, and quite fat.

He bowed to Kunou, but did not bend his knees. He was the leader of the desert tribes of Arun, and as such owed allegiance to no one. Kunou knew this yet Happosai's temerity annoyed him. All the desert tribes and kingdoms annoyed him immensely.

Kunou spotted Happosai glancing around covertly. The throne room was empty except for them and the deaf and dumb guards who were with the King at all times. Mousse had made sure that it was done discreetly.

"His Majesty King Kunou has summoned you to his presence," said Mousse. "It is good that you arrived so promptly."

Happosai glanced up. "I could hardly refuse so gracious an invitation from the King of Dara himself,"he said dryly. Five hundred armed soldiers had accompanied the deliverer of the royal message.

Kunou spoke for the first time. "Happosai, Chief of the Arun. We greet you."

Happosai said, "How may I be of service, Great One?"

"You are aware of the kingdom of Jiya?"

Happosai looked startled. "Certainly. Genma has recently come into the kingship."

Kunou scowled slightly. "Genma, yes." Ever since he'd come to know of Genma, he'd been plotting with Mousse.

He smiled down at the midget Arun Chief. "Happousai, I'm about to fulfill your wildest dreams."

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Almost before Nodoka was recovered from her labor, Genma proceeded to frequent her bed until she had conceived again. This took nearly a year, because to the west of Jiya, Jin and the other civilized countries, news came of the Arun, a horde of nomads led by a charismatic and unstoppable leader named Happosai. Genma was forced to leave his wife for long periods of time. He was kept busy defending his territories in the far west.

In the meantime, the old king of Jiya died as well, and left the kingdom to his son, Soun. Soun took a wife to him and proceeded to continue the war with Happosai and the six tribes of Arun.

The following year, Nabiki, another daughter, was born to the Queen and Genma's rage could not be contained. He hung his wife from her wrists in the Great Hall and whipped her till the blood from her back pooled at her feet.

Hatred for her husband coiled like a cold black snake in the queen's breast as she hung from the chains. The councilors again begged for the King to spare the child and he thundered at them, "If she bears me another girl child, I shall kill her and burn all her babes before her dying eyes."

The councilors shuddered and retreated and worked all their arts, and every day a potion was sent to the queen, so that she might bear a boy child, but another year passed before the queen grew heavy with child again.

Around this time, spies brought the news to Genma that Soun's wife was pregnant as well. A month before Nodoka was due, Genma received news that his enemy's wife had delivered a healthy son.

He went to the Queen's chamber and told her the news.

"Do you remember my vow last year, my dear?" he asked maliciously.

"I had fainted from your beating, my lord," Nodoka reminded him tonelessly.

"Well, I feel free to repeat it. If this third child is a girl, I will rip open your belly so that no more such spawn will leave your womb." With that, he left her.

A month passed slowly, and as the date of the birth grew nearer, Genma's councilors grew more and more terrified.

"If Nodoka births a girl child this time, the King will kill us all along with the Queen in his rage," said Lord Tofu. "I have a young son myself, and I would like to live to see him grow up."

"There's a solution," mused Kalamari, his long nose twitching. "It's a slim chance, but Genma might agree to it." When Kalamari's nose twitched, it was a sign that he was thinking very fast. He told them what he was thinking.

The advisors put their heads together but could not find a way to improve on Kalamari's plan. They went to seek an audience with Genma.

"You know that the Arun are massing in the foothills, Majesty," they said.

Genma glanced at them. "Aren't we even now waiting for a reply from Cantos to join with us?" Cantos was Jiya's greatest ally, though not nearly as powerful.

"Uhm," Kalamari coughed. "Yes, Majesty. We received a reply today. They have seen the strength of the hordes of Arun and don't think that allying with us will save them. They want us to have a third ally."

"What?" barked Genma. He rose from his throne and strode to where Kalamari knelt, offering up a scroll. He snatched it and peered at it, but he was not very good at reading, and finally he glared at them.

"Who do they want us to ally with?" he asked.

Kalamari, feeling his knees protest against the cold stone floor, did not want to see his King's face when he replied, but he stayed looking up so as to avoid the foot that doubtless would be coming his way.

"Jin, Majesty."

There was a long silence. Kalamari had to skip nimbly to avoid the foot that nevertheless managed a painful kick to his ribs.

"What filth are you spouting, you fool of a camel?" Genma roared. "Why would I EVER want to...?"

"There are advantages, majesty," ventured Kalamari.

Genma's cold eyes lit on his advisor.

"Interrupt me again and I shall have your tongue sliced from you with a blunt blade." The councilors quaked on their knees. "What advantages?"

Tofu looked up at this point.

"When old enemies become allies, it is customary to give each other a token of their good will. Usually, that token is a son or a daughter. Each king will foster the child of the other as his own. The child is a surety against betrayal."

"What is so wonderful about sending off three girl brats? I will give them away freely to any beggar that asks," said Genma. No one questioned that the third child would be a girl child.

"Ah, but if you give them to Soun, Majesty, in return you will get a son," Kalamari said craftily. "His son. To raise as your own."

Genma paused, the words reverberating in his mind. A son. To raise as his own. To train as he wished. A son. To be his own.

"But why would he take three daughters for one son? Everyone knows a son outweighs any number of daughters in value."

"Ah, you will only offer him your youngest daughter, majesty," Kalamari said, his long nose twitching. "The more daughters you give him, the less he will value them."

"What will make him value your youngest will be that you will engage your daughter to him," Tofu continued hastily. The King was clever, and if he decided that they were deceiving him in any manner, their bones would soon adorn the palace walls. "It is popularly known that King Soun covets land. Since Jin is slightly smaller than our kingdom, Jinian kings have always tried to steal our land."

"If you swear to make Soun's son heir to Jiya, then his greed will win over any affection he might have for his son. He will never interfere with you adopting and raising his son as long as you marry that son to your true daughter."

"This war with the Aruns is likely to be a long war," Genma mused. "I would have the boy for many years. Yes. Betrothed to my daughter he would be bound in a double bond to me and Jiya. And he will rule after me. Let Soun have another son to rule after him."

He looked down at his cowering councilors. "Very well. You may contact Soun of Jin."

When the third daughter was born, no one was really surprised. The Queen looked up with tired terror in her eyes as Genma entered the room.

He will kill me this time, she thought, and hugged the baby protectively to her breast. Dark fire burned warningly, if uselessly, in her eyes. "Genma..." she began.

But he only smiled a strange smile at her and took the baby away. She eventually found out where, from the councillors. The arrangements had been made. The two kings sent each other documents with their seals pledging their children Ranma and Akane to each other.

Genma was afire with eagerness. The only reason he waited till his daughter was weaned was that he did not want her to die on the way to Jin, thus stealing him of his new son.

One cool summer morning, a procession of slaves, servants, and courtiers, Kalamari at its head, left the city of Jiya with the baby princess Akane. Across the desert, a similar procession carrying the little prince, Ranma, began the same journey to Jiya.


	2. When we were seven

Disclaimer: Ranma & Co. don't belong to me. But you knew that.

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Excerpt:- He smiled icily when he saw her.  
  
"Akane Tendo, my fiancée." He studied her. "They say if you had been a boy that I would have been spared this hell."  
  
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Chapter 1  
  
When Ranma and Akane were seven years old, Akane was sent to visit her betrothed in Jiya. Queen Kurumi consulted with her wise women and they told her it was necessary for the princess to see her betrothed at least once before the engagement.  
  
"Don't be afraid, my darling," said the dark-haired Queen as she knelt and kissed her daughter goodbye. "Remember that you are a lioness of the desert. Nothing will harm you."  
  
"She is still just a little cub!" roared Akane's guardian, Qiyar Al- Nasrullah, the famed warlord of the steppes. He was Akane's uncle, a giant and dusty warrior, who had always seemed to loom over little Akane.  
  
Al-Nasrullah had come back from the war on the lower hills only to escort the little princess. Although Jin and Jiya were wary allies, and with Cantos and the smaller kingdoms had continued to war with the Arun over the seven years, there seemed no sign that their attack would lessen. The armies still fought to keep the hordes back.  
  
Akane traveled to Jiya in the presence of her uncle and a regiment of soldiers. Kurumi had heard tales of Genma. Akane sat in a silk covered palanquin atop a caparisoned camel. The curtains protected her complexion from the desert sun and wind, also allowing her privacy.  
  
She peeked through those curtains until Jin was out of sight. She had never been so far from home before. What would Jiya be like? She knew it was her birthplace, but that was all she knew.

When they reached Jiya, Akane found it to be much like Jin in appearance, crowded with men and women in desert robes going about their business, black-skinned and golden-skinned slaves carrying the closed palanquins of rich women who would not expose themselves to the public eye, naked brown boys playing on the dusty streets, the buildings made of white stucco and mortar, or gritty white limestone. Minarets rose here and there, priests standing at the highest points, sending out calls to the faithful to attend afternoon prayer.  
  
Vendors and merchants hawked their wares in corners, their stalls bulging with cottons, silks, spices, jewellry, and all manner of bric-a-brac. Camels and oxen trudged along drawing carts or simply being led to market to be sold. Akane could smell curry, strange perfumes, oils, and underneath it all the stink of garbage. In one corner, she could see slaves on a platform, being auctioned. The white sun beat down on the city relentlessly, like a hammer on an anvil.  
  
Finally, they reached the palace.  
  
The whole court had turned up to meet her. Here was one of their princesses, returned from a foreign land. They were surprised at her beauty, her large, dark eyes and soft, silky black hair. Her sisters' hair was brown. Akane had roses in her cheeks and she was a sturdy child dressed in the flowing desert caftan of Jin.  
  
Genma and Ranma were away in training, which everyone considered a blessing. Nodoka gathered her child into her arms and held her close.  
  
"Oh, little Akane!" Nodoka's tears had dried up a long time ago, but she felt a twinge in her heart when Akane looked up at her with her serious brown eyes. "You've grown so tall!"  
  
Akane's sisters stared at her. Kasumi and Nabiki had grown into pretty young princesses, but their glances constantly assessed the need for flight, and they hid behind their mother and her handmaidens. Akane smiled at them. She wanted to talk to them but was hustled away by the Queen to be fed and bathed. Later, when she saw them hovering behind a servant, she smiled at them again and skirted the servant to stand before them.

"Hello. My name is Akane."

The two girls stared at her wide-eyed. Then the taller one spoke. "My name is Kasumi." She glanced sideways at the shorter girl. "This is my sister, Nabiki."

"I'm your sister, too!" Akane piped up, enormously interested in the two girls. They looked at her in shock.

"No, you're..."

"Hush, Nabiki!" Kasumi sent her younger sister a warning glare. She smiled at Akane. "Please feel welcome here, Akane. We...just don't get many visitors. Certainly not anyone as young as you!" Kasumi looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Would you like to see our rooms?" she asked. Akane nodded happily.

A few days later, the King and his foster son returned and Akane met her fiancée for the first time. They considered each other solemnly. Akane saw a young boy, dressed in loose white linen trousers and a blue tunic, his hair tied back in a braid behind him, his eyes a shocking blue in his sun burnt face. Those blue eyes examined her from head to foot.  
  
Genma turned a cold glance on her. She stared back up at him, at the man who had sired her, tried to see if there was anything of herself in him. There was nothing.    
  
"I won't have her presence corrupting him," he said. "She will see him at dinners and that's all the contact necessary." Akane decided she didn't like Genma at all.  
  
She watched Ranma when she saw him in the halls or hallways. She would have approached him, except Genma never seemed to be very far away. She watched Genma, too. She knew that Ranma was the real son of her foster parents and that he was a prisoner of war, as she was. But whereas Soun and Kurumi lavished her with love, she could see that it was not the same for the young prince.  
  
Genma believed strongly that only harshness and intense training would create Ranma into the invincible warlord Genma wanted as his successor. He showed Ranma no love. He was merciless by nature, as far as Akane could tell.  
  
The prince walked around the palace with a proud, angry set of his shoulders. His easy arrogance and chilling blue glance did not invite closeness or confidence. The guards posted over him after his first attempt to escape followed him deferentially.  
  
Akane followed them once out of curiosity. The prince and his guards went down a deep, spiraling staircase down to where Akane imagined the dungeons must be. There, the guards opened an iron door and ushered the prince in. The door clanged shut on him.  
  
Akane walked forward. Was this where he lived? One of the guards saw her and stared.  
  
"Open the door. I'd like to meet him," she said.  
  
The guard shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea, Highness. I'm sure His Majesty would not…"  
  
There was the sound of footsteps on the stairs. The guard shoved Akane into an empty room. "Stay there till I come get you."  
  
Akane heard a voice. She peered around the door. It was Jso, Genma's male lover. At least that's what Akane had heard someone call him. She had seen him around the palace, a prancing, evil man with a high-pitched laugh who caressed the king in a manner that made Akane uncomfortable. He held a whip in one hand. He strode past the guards and pulled open the door. He disappeared inside.  
  
Akane heard the clink of chains and then some kind of sound, staccato and rhythmic. She strained her ears, but she could hear nothing more. Heeding the guard, she waited and waited. The open door of Ranma's cell blocked her view.  
  
She heard Jso come out and scream at the guards, "He's fainted already! Who has been drugging him? When I find out I'll have your ears!" The guards murmured some reply, and then silence.  
  
Finally, she crawled out of the room. She could hear Jso's steps receding up the stairs, and she turned and walked quietly into the room.  
  
Ranma hung from manacles, his tunic shredded from repeated blows. His guard was taking him down and she could see his bloodied back.  
  
His trousers hung around his ankles.  
  
His head hung to his chest, but some sound she made caused him to stir, glance up unseeing, and Akane nearly stepped back from the rage glowing in his cobalt eyes.  
  
Later, the guard came to summon her to him. She found him sitting on his bed, bandages wrapped around his pale child's torso.  
  
He smiled icily when he saw her.  
  
"Akane Tendo, my fiancée." He studied her. "They say if you had been a boy that I would have been spared this hell."  
  
Akane flushed. She stared at him.  
  
"I would take your place if I could," she said defiantly.  
  
"You?" Ranma began to laugh, and he laughed until he coughed. "You are just a girl. You are weak, and your body would never be able to live and take the kind of punishment that mine does, daily."  
  
Akane clenched her hands. "Girls can be strong, too!"  
  
"Come here, Akane," Ranma said. She hesitated. Ranma stood up, and went to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and stared down at her. Then he leaned down and brushed a soft kiss across her lips.  
  
Ranma made a soft sound. "I wondered what it would be like to be touched by a female for a change." Akane didn't understand his words or his meaning. His guards escorted her back to her rooms.  
  
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The city of Dara was made almost entirely out of black marble. Its palaces and markets gleamed jet, and its minarets rose like tall ebony needles to the pale blue desert sky. It was considered to be one of the wonders of the civilized world and scholars often travelled great distances to study the sheer impossiblity of a city that appeared to have been created from one stone ever since its birth centuries ago.  
  
"How did they do it, Father?" asked young Tarou, agog with wonder astride his perambulating camel.  
  
"Sorcery, my lad! How else do you think?" Beside him, Happosai tapped his pipe and rode his own camel. "You'd imagine all this black would soak up heat like a sponge, wouldn't you?" He shifted in his saddle. "So here's the real mystery. When you put your hand to one of those black walls, the marble will be as cool as though it was the hall of a Caliph's palace."

 Beneath the beasts' long, padded feet, black gravel glistened oddly. The bustle and noise of the city grew louder as the cititzens began their new day.  
  
"Khaitan's feet! Is that true?" Tarou exclaimed. "It is like the City of Night!"  
  
"Dara is known as the Black Diamond of Sidon," Happousai said said, frowning. It certainly glittered like one. The black walls were eerie, especially to a nomad like himself. They made their way up the streets towards the black, gleaming palace, where Happosai had an appointment.  
  
Inside the palace, as they stood before the huge, carved doors of the throne room, Happosai turned to his son.  
  
"Stay out here until I return, Tarou. Don't go anywhere!"  
  
"Yes, Father." Tarou had been itching to see what the mysterious King Kunou looked like, but his father's punishment for disobedience was always harsh. He only caught a glimpse of a young man with large glasses and long, dark hair in a white Chinese robe before the doors swung shut  
  
Inside, Happousai bowed to the throne and then looked up to face the hooded figure seated on it.  
  
Kunou drew his hood back and considered Happosai.  
  
"So you return, Happosai. What news have you?"  
  
"Jiya, Jin and the smaller kingdoms are fighting our encroachment of the desert, your majesty. We have captured some of Jiya's western land and two of Jin's farming towns. Progress is slow."  
  
"Excellent." Kunou brought his gloved and ungloved hand together. "Would that this could go faster, but the prophecy says it will only happen in the sixteenth year of the Great Star, and that is still nine years away." He motioned with his gloved hand, which seemed somewhat stiff.  
  
"You must be patient, my lord," Mousse spoke soothingly. "We have done all we can to bring Jin and Jiya into a temporary truce. The engagement has taken place. Things are proceeding as we planned."  
  
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Akane only saw Ranma once again before she left. It was an early afternoon and she had gone down to the training field in hopes of practicing her own kenpo. As she neared it, she heard peculiar sounds coming from the field. She heard screaming. But there was another sound. It sounded like…  
  
…Cats. The yowling of hundreds of cats. She ran up against the fence and peered through the slats. She could see the edges of a pit, and Genma was perched at the lip, peering down into the darkness. It was from there that the screaming and the yowling came.  
  
Even then Akane did not quite understand immediately. Then Genma began to pull up on the rope he was holding, and as the coils of rope on the ground began to grow, Akane was seized by a horrible idea. It was a child's certainty that held her, the part of her mind that told her that that there WAS a monster under the curtains of her bed, a certainty with no reason or need for one.  
  
She knew before she saw Ranma's head appear, before she saw his body emerge from the pit and he collapsed on the ground, still screaming, covered with bites and scratches. Genma held him down easily.  
  
Akane began to scream herself. She thought her screams must come in sympathy to Ranma's own. Tears began to roll down her cheeks, and she gripped the slats tightly. Genma looked up.  
  
Hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away. She held on until only her chubby fingertips grasped the slats until they turned red, and then they lost purchase with the rough wood. She was lifted and carried, still crying, over the huge shoulder of her uncle. He began to jog away from the field.  
  
"No, uncle, go back! Go back!"  
  
"Hush, little cub," said Al-Nasrullah in an oddly muted voice, his strides lengthening. "When you are full grown I will allow you to return for that monster, but until then I will see to you."  
  
And Akane was too out of breath from her tears and being jolted to reply. She hung like a small, damp rag-doll on Al-Nasrullah's back. They left for Jin that very night.  
  
"I'll grow strong, Ranma. I will!" Akane vowed in her small palanquin, staring back at the city of Jiya. "And then I'll come back and save you!"


	3. The Curse

Disclaimer: Ranma & Co. belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

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Excerpt:- Akane sat up in her bath. Ranma? Had she heard something? She sat quietly for a moment, water dripping from her sleek body, her head tilted to catch any sound. But there was only the sound of drops plopping back into the water.  
  
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**Nine Years Later**

Splash!  
  
Ranma balanced easily on the slim bamboo stick and watched his foster father fall into one of the pools dotting the ground below them.  
  
He stared in amazement as a huge panda came hurtling out of the pool and, in his surprise, he could not avoid being knocked off the perch. He fell into water.  
  
Did I see a…?  
  
He kicked and surfaced, water streaming through his hair and blurring his vision. He looked down and seeing that he had suddenly gained breasts, screamed in horror.  
  
I'm a girl!!!??!! Is this some nightmare? Am I dreaming?  
  
The monk of the pools came running in terror, just in time to see a red haired girl and a panda staring at each other.  
  
"Oh, no! Your Majesty! Your Royal Highness! You have fallen in the pools of Drowned Panda and Drowned Girl." The monk stopped because his knees were shaking with terror.  
  
The oasis of Jusenkyou had a reputation as a cursed place. No camel train or merchant caravan, however thirsty their animals, would ever stop at the many springs of water that gushed from the ground. They might stop briefly at the monastery that guarded the springs. The monks had their own tiny spring, the source of all their water.  
  
And now King Genma, the Tyrant of Jiya, had come to train with his only son, and they had been cursed. It was impossible for even the King to kill a monk without repercussion, but Genma was not the Tyrant of Jiya for nothing.  
  
The monk saw visions of whips and chains in his near future.  
  
"Don't worry," he stammered. "Hot water will turn you back." They didn't ask, he reasoned, about cold water. They could find out for themselves. By that time, he and his fellow monks would have fled across the desert to Jin.  
  
Ranma listened dazedly through the monk's explanations. She turned to see the panda growling deep in its throat and turned back to the monk.  
  
"Boil us some hot water."  
  
She watched monk fiddle with a kettle for a moment before her tenous self- control splintered.  
  
"This is all your fault!" she screamed at the panda. "How could you bring us to this cursed place?" The panda gave her a powerful swat that sent her flying to the ground.  
  
"Why you..!" Filled with fury, Ranma attacked Genma viciously. Cursed to be a girl! For even these brief moments, to be a girl, for one's body to be soft and yielding, as Ranma never would allow herself, no, HIMSELF, to be.  
  
Unexpectedly, Ranma thought of Akane. He still remembered the soft touch of her lips against his.  
  
He'd thought of her when he was 10 years old and had stapled Jso's hands to the wall with his own too-long, too-pretty daggers. Jso had coughed blood in the end. His crushed throat had prevented him from begging for his life, but that hadn't stopped him from trying, the prince remembered with bitter amusement.  
  
At the last, Ranma had grown sick of the sight of his face and slashed his throat. Genma had watched smirking all the while, his arms folded and his legs apart in his stance of warrior pride. Genma had tired of his lover by then.  
  
The monk fled as soon as the water began to boil. Ranma snatched up the kettle and upended it over himself. He felt the change, felt himself growing. He was a man again. But he still remembered Akane.  
  
He tossed the empty kettle to the ground and walked off, leaving Genma in a fury, trying to collect water for himself.  
  
Stalking through the city, Ranma's thoughts returned to the war. Genma had often led his armies in the place of his general. At such times, Ranma was chained to the wall in his old room in the dungeons, and not released on pain of death till Genma returned.  
  
And the demon always returned.  
  
"Nothing can kill that one!" swore a soldier once in Ranma's hearing. "I saw him cleave through a warhorse once, simply to unseat his opponent!"  
  
"I heard he chained our army together in the last battle, so that the soldiers would not be able to lose courage and run."  
  
"Yes, it truly was 'kill or be killed'," noted an old spearman. "They had no choice at all but to stand and fight or be cut down where they stood."  
  
Back in the palace, Ranma stared at himself in his full length mirror, imported at great cost from Cantos, where such things were made.  
  
"You look worried, brother," said a calm voice behind him. He turned around to see Nabiki, his second eldest foster-sister, leaning against the doorway.  
  
The two true-blood daughters of Genma had grown up into self-controlled young women. They never gave their emotions away. Kasumi smiled through both blessings and beatings, and she had discovered a talent for cookery at a young age. She had enjoyed it and the assistant cook down in the kitchens had been happy to teach her, until Genma found out. He had the assistant-cook carved up in front of Kasumi with his own knife.  
  
Kasumi had smiled through that, too, Ranma had heard.  
  
Nabiki, on the other hand, always wore a stoic, sometimes calculating expression. Genma's second daughter had somehow learned early that having leverage over others made her stay at the palace more bearable. She spent all her time eavesdropping and collecting information the way ants stored up food for the winter. She had pages and some younger servants in her employ, Ranma knew. She had blackmailed him, too, when she felt the need.  
  
But he never held it against her. They all survived here as they knew best.  
  
He looked back at the mirror.  
  
A sixteen year old boy stared back at him. Slim and muscular, his shining black hair tied back in a braid that bisected his shoulder blades. His glance skimmed the cobalt blue eyes and rested on the reassuringly large fists with their callused knuckles and fingers.  
  
Yes, he was most definitely male. He had nothing to fear.  
  
"It's nothing, Nabiki."  
  
He turned and went to his washing basin, and splashed some cold water on his face. He came back to the mirror and stared at himself. At the edge of his vision, a blurred image of Nabiki's shocked white face wavered.  
  
An ominous silence hung in the room, the calm before the storm.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa……………..!!!!!!!!!"  
  
*********************************************************  
  
**The City of Jin  
  
Akane sat up in her bath. Ranma? Had she heard something? She sat quietly for a moment, water dripping from her sleek body, her head tilted to catch any sound. But there was only the sound of drops plopping back into the water.  
  
She sighed and rose from the tub, wrapping a large, woven towel about herself. What had suddenly made her start thinking about Ranma? She had only seen him that one time, nine years ago, and she suspected she had suppressed some of those memories.  
  
Of course, there was a lot of reason to think about him now, she chided herself.  
  
In three weeks, on the day after her sixteenth birthday, she would have to travel again to Jiya to formalize her betrothal to Ranma. Then she would stay with him for the space of a year. To live in that awful place…  
  
"Hello, Akane."  
  
Akane swung around with a shriek. "Ryouga!" Her cousin grinned unrepentantly at her, a bunch of wildflowers clutched in his large fist.  
  
"Ryouga! I'm not dressed! Why didn't you knock?"  
  
"These are for you, Akane." He held out the flowers. She smiled and took them. It was hard to be mad at Ryouga. Her cousin was so harmless. He really was a sweet boy. She knew Soun looked to him as his successor.  
  
"Thank you, Ryouga," She took the flowers and slid the stems into a glass vase on her vanity. "Now, you must leave. I have to get dressed."  
  
"Very well. I'll meet you downstairs for dinner," he said. Akane took a second to look outside her room. Yes, her cousin's navigator was with him. He probably would get Ryouga to dinner on time.  
  
Back in her room, Akane dressed in a soft, white, cotton tunic with embroidery on the neck and sleeves, an embroidered vest and loose pants that she tucked into her knee high boots.  
  
She continued to think about Jiya. Her sisters. Kasumi and Nabiki. When she'd last seen them, they had been little more than shadows, hiding behind curtains and bustling servants. She wondered what they were like, now.  
  
And Ranma. She'd made a promise to save him. She planned to fulfill it this time.  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
Nearly 4 Weeks Later, On the Streets of Jiya  
  
**Akane lifted the curtain of her palanquin to peek outside. The avenue they were traveling was filled with people throwing flowers and maize at her procession. The citizens of Jiya. She could see that the more prosperous citizens stood at the front of the crowds, but on the whole, these people did not seem nearly as happy or well-fed as her own. Akane snorted and sat back. And she was going to be queen to these people?  
  
At the palace steps, the Jinian procession paused, and Akane waited tensely, though she remained serene on the outside. She dared not look through the curtains. Everyone's eyes were no doubt on the palanquin already. She watched as a callused hand drew the curtain back.  
  
Akane and Ranma met face to face again after nine years. They stared at each other. Everyone waited.  
  
"Is her beauty so great, boy, that you are struck dumb?" Genma strode forward and peered into the palanquin, his eyes skimming Akane's form from head to toe.  
  
"By the beard of Gulzar!" he exclaimed. "Let's see her in the daylight, boy!" He reached to pull her out, but Ranma blocked him.  
  
"I have her," he said quietly. He clasped Akane's hand and led her out to stand on the palace steps. The crowds stared at them in awe.  
  
"After all, Nodoka's mother was one of the great beauties of Jiya," a courtier's wife whispered to another. "It's really not a surprise."  
  
"I have heard she is known as the Flower of Jin."  
  
"They grow them well there, don't they?"  
  
Tofu heard the whispers around him, and his clasped hands tightened. She was beautiful. And what black thing masqueraded as the heart of Genma would destroy anything of beauty.  
  
The councilor glanced at his colleagues. Kalamari, the wisest of all of them, wore a strained look, as though he were thinking of something. His nose began to twitch.  
  
And that was how Akane came again to Jiya.


	4. Say what! Everyone is variously surprise...

Disclaimer: Ranma and Co. belong to...somebody famous.

Notes: Thanks to Ice for all the invaluable help! Hey, everyone, reviews really are what keeps me going...so if you wanna read (more), ya gotta write(a tiny review)! ^_^

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Excerpt:-A slim figure stood silhouetted with legs apart in the doorway, something long strapped to his back, pointing down the line of his arm at Genma.  
  
"Betrayer!"  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
The eastern province of Sidon was famous for its sandstone, limestone and starstone. The region was flanked by mountains to the north and hills to the west. The Arman desert lay between the hills and the cities of Jin, Jiya and their smaller neighbours.  
  
And at the edge of the desert, the six tribes of Arun had set up camp.  
  
"They've kept us at the skirts of the desert for 16 years!" Tarou shouted at his father, stalking after the diminutive leader of the Arun. The colorful striped war-tents and the herds of the Arun people surrounded them.  
  
The encampments of the Arun had grown as the war stretched into years. Thousands of horses were penned beyond the tents. The Arun warriors themselves numbered in the tens of thousands and they stood in pens practicing with their weapons or currying their horses. Tarou thought it all looked rather like a small city itself.  
  
"We have captured Jiya's western land, my son," Happosai said patiently. He adjusted the cotton headdress he wore to protect his bald head from the harsh sun. "We have five of Jin's farming towns. We have captured fifty herds of Jiya's sheep. They are running low on food. Their armies are losing ground from having lost so many generals and princes. Soon, Genma will be forced to confront us to him or risk us crossing the desert to them. Which we shall certainly do after we…"  
  
"That's what you've said for the past year!" cried Tarou in frustration. "I don't know what King Kunou tells you but…."  
  
Happosai stopped. "Do you have a problem with how I lead this war, my child?" he asked, smiling slightly.  
  
Tarou paled and stumbled for a moment. "No! Khaitan forbid that I doubt you! It's only that…I grow impatient. I'm sixteen now! I came out here when I was five and was learning to hold a sword and in those eleven years we have taken only small steps to victory."  
  
Happosai grinned. "So you have faith in me, my son?"  
  
"Of course, Father."  
  
********************************************************  
  
"I'll see you in hell first, old man!"  
  
Genma's cold eyes grew slitted. His young wolf was growing well, and tried to bite the hand that hit him constantly, but Ranma was not yet quite strong enough. "Don't dare to disobey me, boy. There's no reason to tell your fiancée anything about the curse! I won't give Soun a reason to break the engagement now."

If Soun found out of the curse, he might declare the engagement void and take Ranma back. Genma would never let that happen. Everything hinged on the engagement. Only then would Ranma truly be his.  
  
"That's precisely what he should do," Ranma countered. "How will Princess Akane be happy knowing that she will be married to a woman?" 

He was careful to always refer to Akane by her honorific in front of Genma. He'd seen the way the old man had leered at her at the Welcoming. Ranma would say or do anything to throw a wrench in Genma's plans. He didn't really care about Akane's sensibilities, he told himself. If there was any way to escape Genma, he'd grab it.  
  
"You are not a woman!" Genma growled. And then he growled unintelligibly, waving his paws, for Ranma had splashed him with a handy bucket of water.  
  
"Yes. And you're not a panda," the prince said, and walked off.  
  
A glass of water hit him on the back of the head and shattered. Ranma spun around.  
  
"Even if you had become the blue-skinned King of the Djinn, it wouldn't matter," said Genma, in the act of pouring hot water on himself. He seemed to completely ignore it when Ranma turned into a girl. Women, in his opinion, were weak and good for one thing, to bear sons. His son was not weak. "You WILL marry Akane. If you were dead, I would prop your carcass up with the end of my sword and say your vows for you and even bed her myself if necessary!"  
  
"She's your daughter, you sick fuck!" Ranma yelled, unable to believe what she was hearing. She swept her foot towards Genma's head, but he caught her ankle, forcing her to spin and kick him in the face with her other foot. Altogether more satisfying, Ranma thought.  
  
She leapt back before Genma's lightning punch could catch her in the chest. She didn't understand Genma's insistence on having the engagement as soon as possible. The hall was already prepared and they were readying Akane even now, though she had just arrived a few hours ago.  
  
"You are my only son, Ranma, whom I will make the strongest," Genma said, crouching. "There is nothing and no one else."  
  
The fight began in earnest.  
  
***************************************************  
  
In the women's apartments, Akane sat on a silk divan and allowed Nodoka and her sisters to tend to her. They had bathed her in scented water, washed her hair in some sweet-smelling concoction, and then oiled her body with crushed jasmine.  
  
Readying a girl for her engagement was the sole duty of the women in the family, but it made Akane feel like a doll being dressed.  
  
They smeared the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet with red saffron and dressed her in robes of rich linen that she had brought with her from Jin. The saffron irritated Akane. She knew she'd be leaving crimson smudges everywhere.  
  
"So Ryouga is Soun's successor, then?" Nabiki asked, washing her hands in a silver basin. Of the three women, Nabiki talked the most. She asked Akane about life in Jin, and Akane's own life seemed to interest her immensely.  
  
"Yes," Akane said. "He's very strong. We trained together a lot." Akane remembered Soun's face when she left. Her foster-father looked triumphant that at last his bloodline would rule Jiya.  
  
Nabiki's hands stilled. "You…trained together?" Nodoka and Kasumi looked up from where they were fastening filigreed gold chains around Akane's ankles.  
  
"Yes, we studied kenpo together. We both wanted to become strong, you see." Akane couldn't quite remember why her determination had been so fierce. She only knew it had to do with Ranma.  
  
Now all three of them were staring openly.  
  
"Women don't train in martial arts!" Nabiki said, but her tone was questioning.  
  
"They certainly do!" Akane retorted. "Well, not as many as men, it's true, but it's not strange to see a woman who practices martial arts!"  
  
"Are you sure you don't mean…marital arts, my dear?" Nodoka asked gently. Akane's maid, Paro, who stood apart watching them, gave a muffled snort of laughter. Akane found herself smiling.  
  
"No, my lady. I said kenpo. The same style that Ranma and…the King use."  
  
"What an odd idea," Kasumi mused with a puzzled smile. "No woman in Jiya practices kenpo, Akane. The King believes that women are too weak for such a thing."  
  
Nodoka smiled at Akane often, and sometimes cast her longing glances, but Kasumi smiled constantly, and often at Akane. She seemed genuinely happy to be helping her, as far as Akane could tell. She liked Kasumi already.  
  
The doors opened and slaves came in carrying a silk and wooden mat on which Akane would be transported to the great Hall where the engagement ceremony would take place. The princess didn't see why she couldn't walk when she had two healthy legs, but she was tired from her journey and nearly alone, with a new and unknown family. She figured she wasn't going to sweat the small stuff right then.  
  
Akane was lifted onto the mat and carried out into the hall, the Queen and her sisters following behind. It was almost like being in the palanquin, Akane decided, trying to get used to the swaying motion.  
  
"Wait!"  
  
They were almost past the large pillars that decorated the entry into the Great Hall. She could see the preparations still going on. She looked around to see Ranma jogging towards them. He was dressed in a long, silk caftan that impeded his progress. Akane giggled to see it. It took away something from his usual cold and controlled self.  
  
Ranma stopped at her side, looking up at her with irritation.  
  
"Akane, I must talk to you," he said stiffly. "There are things you don't know..."  
  
The large, carved outer doors of the Great Hall burst open with a blast of sound and fell clanging to the polished, marble floor. The noise was deafening. Everyone froze, and turned to stare at the enormous gap now filled with sunlight.  
  
A slim figure stood silhouetted with legs apart in the doorway, something long strapped to his back, pointing down the line of his arm at Genma.  
  
"Betrayer!"  
  
Still, no one moved. The figure stalked forward, still pointing at Genma.  
  
"Vile creature! Mangy dog! I am here to avenge my family's honor on you. Do you accept my challenge?"  
  
Genma bared his teeth in a humorless smile.  
  
"I have many enemies, but you look to be only a stripling of a lad. Did I kill your father or plow your mother?" He laughed. "It doesn't matter. Ranma, take care of him."  
  
Ranma stepped forward. He didn't care to fight the demon's battles for him, but he was not in a good mood and this looked like it would delay the engagement, giving him a chance to try to get Akane alone.  
  
"I'm Ranma Saotome, and I shall be your opponent."  
  
The youth stepped forward, and now everyone could see that he was handsome, dressed in dark clothes, his hair clipped back in a long ponytail.  
  
"The devil's cub is equally acceptable. I am Ukyo Kuonji. Prepare for death." With those words, the youth unslung a huge spatula from his back and charged at Ranma, who moved to defend himself.  
  
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	5. The Fight R for nonconsensual sex

Disclaimer: Ranma & Co. belong to...you know who! Meaning, not me.

WARNING! This chapter contains LEMON material. Do not read if you are underage.

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Akane and the Jiyan court watched as Prince Ranma and Ukyo the intruder began their battle.

Ukyo swung his huge spatula sideways, intending to break Ranma's ribs in a single swipe. Ranma dodged the attack, leaping over the weapon and spinning a kick into Ukyo's exposed side. Ukyo managed to block it partially and swung the spatula again.

"Having a weapon that large...it's powerful, but its size leaves little space for defense," noted Ranma.

"Shut up!" Ukyo slashed the spatula like a sword, so that its air pressure was reduced. The speed caught Ranma by surprise and he flipped over Ukyo's head. Ukyo turned around, the spatula propped against his shoulder. It looked like Ranma had disappeared.

"Speed won't help you," said a voice behind him, and he turned in shock to see Ranma perched on the flat end of the spatula.

"Why you...!" Speechless with rage, Ukyo dropped his spatula and pulled out long strings of noodles. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Noodles?!" Everyone in the Hall stared. What was he going to do with those?

The riders had been galloping for two weeks now, with shorts break only for rest or water. They were a small force, only 600 men and horses, and their very size and the magic they carried enabled them to move undetected through the wilderness.

At their head rode three men, one an old and grizzled warrior, the other two young men, though one wore a cloak. The former raised his hand, calling for a quick stop. Their last break had been 14 hours ago.

Wahid al-Tissa surveyed his men.

"We are getting close to Jiya," he said. "Remember, the city is NOT to be attacked. Our goal is the palace. Our informer will let us in through their secret passageway, which will lead straight into the heart of the palace. Lord Mousse has his own business within the palace. We will take over the palace and hold the King hostage until Lord Happosai's main force is let through and we can capture the city itself.

There were nods from his men. One of the two young men spoke up.

"And all the women are for our taking!" Tarou smiled when the men broke into grins.

"We ride!"

"Noodle wrap!" Ukyo shouted.

Thick strand of noodles suddenly shot out from his hands, twining around Ranma, who found himself wrapped in the long strings, unable to move a muscle. Ukyo pulled, and the noodles tightened.

"Ouch!" They stung like hell. Ranma scrutinized the noodles closely. He saw a glint of steel in the bindings. Ukyo began to laugh.

"Those aren't normal noodles, stupid! They have tiny cores of steel. You'll never get loose!"

"Is that so?" Ranma pulled at the sharp noodles. They were shredding his clothes and biting into his skin. Ukyo got ready to swing his spatula again. His first swipe caught Ranma in the back, sending the prince flying. The deadly weapon came back for another shot, but Ranma had turned, twisted and jumped over the spatula, allowing its sharp edge to catch the noodles and break the strands. He was free.

"That's it. I'm done playing," he said, "I've got better things to do with my time." Ukyo's eyes widened on hearing that. Ranma pushed off and delivered a crescent kick to Ukyo's chest, knocking him backward. Ukyo's partial block absorbed some of the force of the blow.

"Shurikens!" Ukyo cried out, and a trio of miniature spatulas came whizzing at Ranma. He jumped to avoid them, and they embedded themselves in a pillar behind him.

"Bombs away!" He threw a handful of balls in Ranma's direction, and explosions echoed through the Hall. Ranma coughed, choking on exploding flour. What an unusual attack, he thought.

Suddenly, the Hall was filled with screaming. Ranma's first thought was that the bombs must have fallen farther than he realized. Then, through tearing eyes he saw black-clad men, swords drawn, pouring through a door into the Hall.

Stunned, he watched as members of the court were hacked down like wheat, and the few soldiers in the Hall were far outnumbered. The majority of the soldiers were placed outside the Hall, to guard from attack. Today, even though security in the Hall had been increased due to the number of guests attending the engagement ceremony, they were still nowhere near enough to combat these men.

Guards should be pouring in from outside, but they were nowhere to be seen.

Beside Ranma, Ukyo paused in surprise. "Who the hell are these people?" he asked. He held up his spatula. "It looks like our fight will have to be postponed, Prince. Thank Khaitan that you will live to see another day."

Ranma didn't bother to reply. He'd suddenly remembered Akane. He couldn't see her in the throng of fighting people. The silk mat she'd been carried in on was empty. And then he was facing a wicked, curved sword and had his own problems to worry about.

Akane held off a soldier with one of the poles from the silk mat that had carried her. The soldier was leering all the while, and Akane hoped he'd slip on his own drool.

"What's a pretty thing like you doing trying to fight me, eh?" The soldier asked, grinning. "Why don't you put your toy down and we'll go into a corner and get to know each other better."

Akane spun the pole in her hands, leaving crimson powder marks on it." Why don't you get to know this!" she yelled, smacking it hard into his ribs and reversing it so the end collided with his skull. He drifted peacefully to the ground. Akane knelt and hit a pressure point with the hilt of her small ankle dagger.

She looked around. Genma was beside his throne, fighting three soldiers with his enormous blade with a grimace of rage on his face. She thanked God that the Queen and the princesses had retreated to their rooms to await the end of Ranma and Ukyo's battle. Akane herself was partially hidden behind one of the giant pillars and as such did not draw much attention. She ripped off the enveloping caftan and decided to keep her pole. She preferred it to a sword.

Where was Ranma? She saw him fighting near the entrance. He had already shed his caftan for the fight with Ukyo and like herself, he was clad only in his blue tunic and trousers.

Wahid looked around with satisfaction. His soldiers would capture the palace in a matter of minutes. The plan was successful. Mousse was nowhere to be seen. He shrugged, his skin prickling with dislike for the mysterious sorcerer.

Ukyo was swinging his spatula in one corner, knocking aside soldiers with deadly force.

Where were all the guards?? Akane didn't even understand how this small army had gained entry to the palace, though she, like everyone else, had realized almost immediately that they were Arun.

She had to get out of there and ride back to Jin with the news of the attack. She slowly began to make her way to the entrance.

Ukyo was considering the entrance too. It wasn't a good idea to be trapped in the palace. Outside, there was a chance of getting to a horse and escaping home to Cantos. They needed to be warned.

A ring of soldiers, all holding weapons suddenly surrounded Ukyo, who discovered Ranma also in the circle, eyeing the men warily. With one thought, they went back to back, watching the soldiers approach.

Three of them suddenly attacked Ranma, and behind him another three attacked Ukyo. The two martial artists spun and kicked, weaved and dodged, while around them the battle continued to rage.

Akane spun the pole to stand upright after felling another soldier and with one eye gauged her distance to the entrance. Only the soldiers fighting Ranma and Ukyo were between her and freedom. She went to their defense.

A sword tangled with Ukyo's spatula, sending both weapons flying. Ranma took advantage of that and did a roundhouse kick that toppled the soldier, leaving Ukyo to dispatch of him.

"Look out!" Ukyo yelled. Behind Ranma, a soldier raised his sword high to fell the young prince. He suddenly got an odd look on his face and slowly tumbled to the ground. Behind him, Akane stood twirling her pole, smiling at Ranma and Ukyo.

"I'd suggest getting out of here right now," she said.

Ukyo opened her mouth to reply and then a voice from her nightmares spoke up and bled all the color from her face.

"Princess Ukyo! Imagine seeing you here."

Ranma and Akane goggled at her. "Princess...?" Simultaneously, their eyes went to her chest. "You're a girl?"

She'd recognize that voice anywhere. Ukyo slowly turned to look into the mocking eyes of Tarou, Prince of the Arun. Her hands clenched into fists as the memories came flying back.

Cantos-One Year Ago

Ukyo was outside in the palace courtyard talking to one of the maids. Her green veil fluttered into her eyes and the wind gusted, pulling the soft green material of her gown away from her legs. At 15, she was shapely and womanly, just as a princess was supposed to be.

Kohl added mystery to her luminous green eyes, and her perfumed hands played with the edge of her long, emerald-edged sleeve. No one knew that she secretly studied Okinomiyaki martial arts with her nurse. She was a dutiful daughter, wanting to please her father and be a perfect young woman, but the arts gave her mind release from the boring duties of a lady.

Hooves clattered on the colored mosaic tiles of the courtyard floor, and her older brother Iori came riding through the iron palace gates, laughing with Ukyo's betrothed, Tsubasa, their personal guard riding behind them.

Ukyo frowned. She couldn't stand Tsubasa. The young noble thought too highly of himself, and although he showed her the respect she was due as a princess of Cantos, she often caught a dark look in his eyes, as though he would like to do things to her that only he could imagine. Once, she'd caught him going through her trunk of clothes, in her room.

Iori and Tsubasa were in such good cheer that Ukyo, wondering what could have made that evil pair so happy, did not immediately see the long rope tied to Iori's saddle. When she did, she gasped to see that the rope was attached to what looked like a man, his hands and legs tied together.

He had obviously been dragged for many miles and sharp stones and rocks had shredded his clothes.

She ran forward. "Iori, what are you doing? Release that man!"

"Oh, you wouldn't want me to do that, little sister!" Iori said, his white teeth flashing in his dark, narrow face. "You see, that's the son of our enemy. Tarou, the Arun Prince."

Tsubasa leaned down to grin at Ukyo. "We met him and his little sister traveling by horse to who knows where. He was a tough one, but of course no problem for Iori and me at all."

No problem with 15 soldiers riding with you, Ukyo thought dryly.

"Where's the sister?" she asked.

Iori and Tsubasa looked at each other again, laughing. "We left her, of course. A woman is useless as spoils of war."

"You...just left her?" Ukyo breathed. Hope shot through her. Maybe they hadn't...

"After we had our enjoyment of her, of course. We rode her long and hard. She was not easy to break. A feisty brat. Don't worry. We left her with Tsubasa's knife in her breast. She won't be getting up anytime soon."

Ukyo sucked in a sharp breath. She turned away and forced herself to keep walking even when Tsubasa called after her, "Ukyo, don't you want to see our spoils?"

She did, later, when Tarou was strung up on a giant wheel in the Great Hall, so that all could walk past him and watch him being tortured by the guards. Her father the King was overjoyed to have caught so important an enemy, and there was much laughter and high spirits in the hall.

The first time, she walked up and studied him, the welts and wounds on his muscular shoulders and torso, the whip marks curled around his long legs. Iori and Tsubasa would never have been able to capture him by themselves. His short, curly black hair hung limp, strands falling across his forehead. His eyes were closed and the thick, sable crescents of his lashes lay like half moons against his pale cheeks.

"I know your face," she said, showing respect to her enemy. The lashes lifted, and tip-tilted silver green eyes were staring at her.

"I know yours too, sister of my sister's murderer," he whispered. Ukyo gasped. Then when his eyes closed again, she turned and left. After that, she avoided the Great Hall and didn't enter it again until one day it was discovered that the prince had somehow escaped. Iori and Tsubasa were furious and they hunted Tarou in vain.

The next big event in the Great Hall was Ukyo's marriage to Tsubasa.

It was Ukyo's wedding night. And she dreaded it.

In the bridal suite, Ukyo knelt in the middle of her enormous bridal bed, head bowed, awaiting her groom. An opaque, maroon, gold-edged veil hid her face. Her henna-decorated hands lay palms down, the thumbs touching. She could feel the thick silk sheets against the pads of her fingers.

Fat, hand-worked gold bangles with garnet stones covered her wrists halfway to her elbows. The long maroon, satin vest she wore glittered with semi-precious stones and gold thread. It pooled around her knees and the darker, satin skirts that covered her feet.

She heard the door open and close. She just couldn't imagine Tsubasa's hands on her...that fat, gross fool...But as a woman, surely it was her place to...

Footsteps muffled by thick carpet approached the bed, and she felt the mattress dip slightly as a knee was placed on it in front of her. Then, the veil was ripped away, and Ukyo blinked in the sudden light.

"Tarou!" she gasped.

The Arun prince smiled down at her with bright malice in his eyes.

"Ahh, the sweet fruit, offered up on a platter," he sneered. "Well, I'll help myself."

In his steel-blue threaded vest that caught the light and his loose, white, linen trousers, Tarou was Ukyo's nightmare come true. He had obviously recovered from his ordeals. Had he reached his home, then?

After a split second of staring in disbelief and growing horror, Ukyo screamed, but Tarou clapped a hand to her lips before the sound could escape and pushed her backwards.

Ukyo lost her balance and landed on the bed. Tarou followed her descent with his own body, trapping her between his chest and the sheets. Ukyo bucked with all her strength and shoved at him, but he didn't budge. She cursed her heavy, elaborate clothing that trapped her as effectively as Tarou did.

She got a hand free and punched him in the ear. He gave a pained shout and fell back. She pushed him to the side and crawled to the edge of the bed on her hands and knees, her long, loose brown hair falling around her face and shoulders.

Tarou sat up and grabbed her slim ankle, yanking her back along the bed towards him. The action exposed her pale slim leg to his gaze. Ukyo screamed and desperately grabbed the wooden edge of the bed with both hands. Her bracelets jangled loudly. Tarou lost his grip for a moment and Ukyo scrambled off the bed and onto the thick Persian carpeted floor.

There was no time to stand up. She crawled on hands and knees towards the window. It was the closest exit. A hand clamped around her ankle again and she was dragged backwards again. Her palms stung as they grazed the carpet.

"No! Nooooo!" Ukyo screamed. She twisted her body to see Tarou, his body half off the bed, grabbing the hem of her skirt with his other hand and begin to pull.

"Screaming will do you no good, Ukyo," Tarou growled. "Everyone who hears will only laugh at the pleasure they think we're sharing." He began to pull her in, both hands gripping fistfuls of her skirt.

Ukyo braced her hands against the carpet and yanked. There was a loud tearing sound and abruptly she was free. She shot to her feet and ran for the window.

The damn thing was locked. She pulled her hand back to punch the glass but two muscular bracered arms encircled around her waist and lifted her off her feet. She allowed the movement to swing her up and she pushed off from the wall with both feet, but they were too far from the wall for her to push him off balance.

She drove an elbow backwards into Tarou's gut. The power of the blow made him bend over, but he straightened and secured her arms. She tried to drive her foot into his kneecap, but what remained of her voluminous, thrice- cursed skirts got in the way, tangling her legs.

Oh, why hadn't she held on to a few of her spatulas!

Tarou swore with his remaining breath. Winding Ukyo's long, silky hair around his fist, he yanked her head backwards, arching the pale column of her throat against his shoulder.

"Listen to me, Ukyo," he whispered in her ear. "You can't hope to beat me, no matter how desperate you are. I am avenging my sister's honor."

He studied her wide eyes and harsh, open-mouthed breathing. "I am going to ruin you and leave you here as a little present for your brother!"

Ukyo licked her lips. "Tarou...Ravishing me isn't going to help your sister! Why don't you just fight Iori?"

Tarou released Ukyo's hair. "An eye for an eye, Ukyo. It's a simple principle."

He pulled a silk scarf from his vest and used it to tie Ukyo's wrists tightly together. Picking her up, he walked back to the bed and tossed her onto it. She fell onto the sheets in a flurry of maroon and gold skirts. Removing another scarf, he pulled her wrists overhead and secured them to the thick wooden headboard.

Ukyo tugged at the bonds but they were unbreakable. Tarou settled himself down the length of her body, allowing his weight to keep captive the rest of her. Her skirts spread out around them, the small jewels on them winking endlessly with every movement.

Ukyo stared up into Tarou's eyes, jerking when he clamped a hand on her breast. She hated him. She knew when something looked inevitable and she wanted to be brave, to spit on him in fury, but being touched so intimately shocked the lady within her, and unwillingly, tears came to her eyes.

"Please, don't," she whispered, turning her face away.

Tarou was startled. His resolve wavered for a moment, and then he scowled. This is how my sister must have begged, he thought grimly. Little Kodachi...

"Where's your pride as a warrior, Ukyo?" he mocked the bound princess. "How can you, a grown woman, bear to plead like a little girl?"

Ukyo's back stiffened and the glance she leveled at Tarou from under her eyelashes gleamed with tears of rage and humiliation.

"You don't know anything, you monster!" She cried. "What does a ravisher of women know about bravery? You're so strong you had to tie up a girl! I'm sure my brother never had that problem!" As soon as Ukyo uttered the words, she wished she could take them back. Tarou's sister had been truly innocent, and Ukyo despised Iori for forcing himself on the younger girl.

She gasped. "I didn't mean...!"

Tarou's eyes narrowed. "Like brother, like sister. You both don't see anything wrong with preying on the weak!" He pulled out a knife and began to cut through her clothing.

"And here I was almost starting to feel bad about this," he laughed.

Ukyo closed her eyes. She wouldn't cry or scream any longer. It was the only way she could keep any dignity. She opened her glittering eyes to glare at him with fury, but Tarou only smiled and pulled off the sliced sections of her vest. Underneath, she wore only a thin chemise. He tore it off with ease. Ukyo closed her eyes as she felt his gaze move across her bared breasts. Gold chains encircled her neck. Tarou stared at the large ruby that lay in the valley of her breasts, seemingly mesmerized by its fiery glow in the lamplight.

"Where's Tsubasa?" Ukyo asked suddenly. Tarou looked up.

"He's dead," he said shortly. "For hurting my sister. Don't worry, at least you're not committing adultery."

Hurting? Not killing?

"So she's not...dead?" asked Ukyo.

Tarou stared at her for a second. "No." Ukyo felt her body loosen slightly in relief, and Tarou rasped, "That's why I'm going to show you mercy, Ukyo. Else you too would be lying here with a knife in you." He placed a fingertip on her breastbone, exactly where a knife might have gone in.

"How do you know that I'm a warrior?" she asked, trying to distract him.

"You move like one. Anyone who was really trained would know." Tarou leaned closer. "I know your face, too, remember?" He ripped off her skirt, the gauzy material tearing easily in his hands.

Ukyo lay naked beneath him. Suddenly she realized that this was how she'd expected it to be with Tsubasa. Rape. She just couldn't have given in to that toad willingly. Yet now she was his widow.

Tarou ran his hands down the length of her body, his callused hands eliciting shivers from her.

He glanced up at Ukyo. "I'm going to enjoy this," he said. He cupped her face with one lean hand, and nuzzled the side of her neck, kissing her softly, inhaling her scent. She began to struggle but he continued without interruption. Ukyou, after all, was tied up.

She closed her eyes, but the tingling sensations his kisses sent through her became much more noticeable. She squirmed, and opened her eyes to fix them on the ornate plaster ceiling high above her head.

She was able to mostly ignore him now as she gritted her teeth, even though out of the corner of her eye, his tousled head worked its way down her torso, his hands roaming where he wished, his fingers stroking, caressing, and then holding her down as he suddenly reared up and pressed into her.

Ukyou gasped from the pain, and something else, and finally fainted.

She woke up the next morning to the sounds of maids screaming outside her room, and her alone on the bed.

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	6. Ranma and Akane are fooled

Disclaimer: Ranma & Co. belong not to me. Ok, that's over with.

******************************************************************

"Of course I'm not a girl!" Ukyo exclaimed. "Do I LOOK like a girl? Are you TRYING to insult me?"  
  
Ranma and Akane looked back at Tarou, who was smirking as he approached the trio.  
  
"Why, I know a girl when I..."Tarou began, but Ukyo desperately interrupted him.  
  
"Tarou, Prince of the Arun," she shouted. "Why have you attacked this city in the manner of a thief?"  
  
Ranma and Akane immediately raised their weapons. The Prince of the enemy! They rushed forward as one to attack Tarou, who immediately brought up his own sword. In the ensuing melee, Ukyo spun and ran over the fallen doors and out into the courtyard.  
  
Night had fallen, and Ukyo saw soldiers lying on the ground. The gate guards, no doubt. How had they been vanquished? She peered through the darkness for a mount. She'd wanted to kill Tarou herself, but retaining her guise as a boy was more important.  
  
How had he recognized her? Surely she looked quite different now from the delicate girl she used to be.  
  
I know your face. She shivered as she remembered his words.  
  
*****************************************************  
  
Ranma jumped over a broken table to balance on an upturned brass pot. Around him lay all the items that would have been used in the engagement ceremony. Many were shattered. Powders and spilled liquid lay on the ground, a trap for the unwary.  
  
Two soldiers had distracted him and Akane from their fight with Tarou, who was immediately distracted by a palace guard.   
  
One of the soldiers followed Ranma, yelling and brandishing his sword. Ranma did a roundhouse kick that hooked behind the man's neck and smashed him into the ground. Ranma landed on the ground and slipped, falling on his butt beside the unconscious soldier.  
  
A nearby unbroken pot began to tilt and fell onto Ranma, the liquid sloshing him and triggering the change.  
  
"Damn!" Ranma fingered her wet tunic and looked around to see if anyone had caught that, just in time to see an armored body falling on her. The weight pushed her back and her head bounced off the floor, knocking her unconscious.  
  
"Hiyah!"Akane yelled with satisfaction, staring at the fallen soldier, then twirled her pole and turned to the next soldier attacking her. She didn't notice Ranma at all.  
  
**********************************************************  
"Have you captured Ranma?" Mousse asked Wahid.  
  
"No," said the old general." He...seems to have disappeared. I'm sure we'll find him."  
  
A soldier approached and stood at attention. "My lord, the palace is captured."  
  
"Genma?" Mousse inquired. 

The solider pointed to an unconscious Genma being dragged off to the dungeons.

"Have you found the prince?" Mousse himself could feel no trace of the boy's life energy.  
  
The soldier looked uncomfortable. "No, sir. He was nowhere to be found."  
  
"It seems he has escaped," said Mousse, his eyes narrowing slightly, the only visible sign of rage he felt. How had it happened? "There will be a slight change of plans." Wahid glared at the smooth young man.  
  
"Change? What change?" he asked.  
  
"I won't be staying, after all. Give the captured women to the men. Send only the queen and the princesses on to Dara with guards. They might come in useful. I'm going out to look for the prince. He's obviously escaped your men. You can stay here and keep the palace and the king hostage."  
  
"But..."  
  
"Really. It's better not to question." Mousse's glasses glinted opaque, hiding his eyes. "Suffice to say that...I'll find him."   
  
Wahid nodded. "Very well." He'd be much happier with the sorcerer far away, and Mousse's slight smile showed that he knew it.  
  
*****************************************************  
  
"Take your pick of the women!" A soldier yelled, and the men happily began to divide up their spoils. The ladies of the court began to shriek in indignation.  
  
"Look at this beauty!" A soldier stared at the dark-haired girl lying unconscious on the ground." I'm taking her for sure!"  
  
"No!" another soldier cried. "I'm the one who sneaked up behind her and brained her on the head. I'm taking her."  
  
"Never mind. Keep her. I've found me a real buxom one. A redhead, no less." He grinned down at the unconscious girl in his arms.  
  
*****************************************************  
  
"Oooooooooooooooh..." Akane groaned silently. She raised a hand to her throbbing head. How could it hurt so much? Her head felt like someone had driven a spike into it.  
  
She opened her eyes slowly and sat up, looking around. Where was she? It looked like one of the palace rooms. The last thing she remembered was hitting yet another soldier with her handy pole, and then someone had hit her head from behind.  
  
The door opened  
  
"Aaah, you're awake, sweet one," said a man as he closed the door behind him. Akane turned to see one of the Arun soldiers. His black garb was slightly bloody but he didn't seem to mind. He stumbled slightly as he approached her. Akane could smell fumes of wine emanating from him.  
  
"What happened?" She asked.  
  
"We won!" he laughed. "And you are my prize!"   
  
She'd been afraid of that. She strongly wished she hadn't left Jin, yet she'd been here when Ranma needed her.  
  
"Who won? How did you enter the palace? How did you get through the desert to come here?" She knew her questions were jumbled, but her head hurt and she was wondering if Ranma was dead. As a man, he'd never let himself be taken prisoner. It was shameful.  
  
"So many questions, pretty one." He was leaning over her now, leering. "I have questions too. You look too fine to be a palace maid. Are you a noble's daughter? A virgin? Come, open your legs for me."  
  
With a start, Akane glanced down and realized she was naked. How on earth had she missed that?  
  
She looked up at the man with a sweet smile. "You like my legs?" She kicked the soldier in the crotch and he doubled over in pain. Akane scrambled off the bed and swung her leg up, smashing into his torso. Her fist came up to slam into his jaw and sent him sailing to the end of the room to slam against the wall.  
  
"Hmph!" she said, with her fists on her slender hips.  
  
The soldier awoke after Akane had tied him up and slapped him a bit.  
  
"I want to know- Who sent you? How did you enter the palace? How did you get through the desert to come here without being detected by our troops?"  
  
He told her what he knew, eventually.  
  
"Lord Mousse is the magician of the Daran king. He helped us. They want Prince Ranma." He warily watched the pointy end of the dagger Akane had found.  
  
"Dara?" Akane was puzzled. She'd learned of the city in her geography lessons. "Why on earth would Dara war with us? Without us even knowing?"

She shook the guard again. "Don't try to fool me! You are an Arun soldier. Those were Arun nomads who attacked us. You have nothing to do with Dara!"  
  


"We are Aruns, true, and we wanted to win the city by stealth, but Mousse is a Daran sorcerer," the guard said. "The Daran king is helping us."

  
She shook her head.  
  
"And Ranma? Did you find him? What of the Queen? And the King?"

  
"I heard that the Queen and her daughters were taken prisoner and sent to Dara. The King was taken to the dungeon. No one saw Prince Ranma. He disappeared suddenly. Lord Mousse is out searching for him."  
  
Disappeared? Akane frowned. He was no coward, was he? No, Prince Ranma would not have run away. Some soldier must have killed him and he was no doubt buried under the bodies of the slain.  
  
She bowed her head in grief, briefly. It was so unfair. She'd really want to get to know the young prince...something in him had called out to her. Her promise was unfulfilled. She'd failed him. And now...  
  
She looked up in determination. She couldn't save the other women. At least she could save the Queen and her sisters. She'd find the way to Dara.  
  
She stood and began to dress, looking around for supplies.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Akane crept along the wall of the kitchen. Guards were posted everywhere, and she was looking for a way out. She turned a corner and bumped into a girl who also appeared to be trying to escape.  
  
"Akane?" the girl said, surprised. She was slightly shorter than Akane, red haired and blue eyed, dressed in a tunic and flowing pants.  
  
"Do I know you?" Akane whispered.  
  
Ranma's eyes widened marginally. Telling Akane about the curse to prevent their engagement had been one thing, but now for some reason she baulked at the idea. Akane knew Ranma as a tall, manly prince, not as a red-headed girl...  
  
"Of course. Everybody here knows you, princess."  
  
Of course. Everyone knew Akane was going to be engaged to their prince. Akane smiled.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked.  
  
"I'm...Ranko," said the girl. "I escaped from..." She shuddered with rage, thinking of the dead and mangled solider she'd left behind, but Akane mistook it for fear and felt sympathetic.  
  
"Well, I'm trying to get out of here," she said. "Any ideas?"  
  
Ranko hesitated briefly. "Follow me." She led Akane back the way the princess had come, and led her down a hallway Akane had not explored. They turned into more hallways and down stairs that were small and wooden, until finally she and Ranko emerged near a wooden door.  
  
"It's an, old forgotten servant's s entrance," Ranko said. "My...sister showed me." She kicked it down with little fuss.  
  
Akane had never been happier to be outside. The night sky stretched endlessly over her head and she tilted her face to the stars that shone like sharp diamonds in the desert air.  
  
"Good luck to you," Ranko said, moving away. Akane came back to earth with a jolt.  
"Wait! Ranko! Where are you going?"  
  
"I have my own business to take care of." Ranko scowled. "It doesn't involve playing nursemaid to a girl."  
  


"You're a girl, too," Akane pointed out.  
  
Ranko started. "Well, I'd rather be on my own."  
  
Akane shrugged. She was used to independent women. "Suit yourself. I only need one more favor. Tell me how to get to Dara."  
  
Ranko swung around sharply.  
  
"Dara? Why are you going there?"  
  
"I was interrogating the soldier that grabbed me. He tells me that the Daran king is behind the attack today. And Nodoka and my sisters are being taken there as well. With Ranma dead, it's up to me..."  
  
"How do you know Ranma's dead?" asked Ranko.  
  
"He must be," Akane said sadly. "He'd never let himself be taken prisoner. It would be shameful to his honor."  
  
Ranko flinched though Akane didn't notice.  
  
"Don't you want to go home to Jin and inform your father?" she asked.  
  
Akane shook her head. "I took care of that. I sneaked up to the pigeon tower and sent off messages with birds to Jin and the other cities."  
  
"Thank goodness for that," drawled a voice out of the darkness. "I was really torn in two until now."  
  
Akane and Ranko had been so busy arguing that they hadn't noticed a figure approach them in the darkness. The figure stepped forward.  
  
"Ukyo!" They stared at him.  
  
"I thought you escaped," Akane said. "I saw you get out of the palace."  
  
"I did," said Ukyo. "An' I was all ready to go home and inform Cantos, when some of the soldiers in there ran out and I had to hide. They surrounded my hiding place till now and I was getting ready to grab a horse when I saw you both."  
  
He frowned. "What you said eased my mind, princess. My city will be warned. That leaves me free to ride with you."  
  
"To Dara?" Akane asked. "Why would you possibly want to go there?"  
  
"I heard one of the soldiers say that Prince Tarou is heading over that way." Ukyo cocked an eye at Akane and Ranko. "I take it you were not able to defeat him."  
  
Akane flushed and even Ranko looked mad. "We were distracted," Akane replied.  
  
Ukyo nodded his head. "Good. It leaves him for me. Where's the prince? We still got unfinished business."  
  
Akane looked down. "I believe he's dead." She look at Ukyo again.  
  
"If you don't mind me asking, what do you have against Tarou? And Genma?" she asked.  
  
"I'd love to stand here all night jawing with you, honey, but those guards might get a little pesky," Ukyo said, looking around. "We better find some mounts and make tracks."  
  
Akane blushed and nodded. She looked at Ranko.  
  
"Fine. I'll come. It's where I want to go, too. But don't get in my way," said the redhead tersely, striding towards the stables.  
  
***************************************************************  
  
  
Notes: Ummm, this one kinda wrote itself, so was unable to insert Ukyo-Genma interaction anywhere. Definitely the next one...:)  Anyway, people, I'd really like some c&c. i really appreciate what I've gotten so far...c&c really helps to improve this! Chapter 7 should be out in a couple of days.


	7. Out of the frying paninto the cauldron?

DISCLAIMER: I really hate writing these. Everyone knows Ranma and co. don't belong to me. Else I'd be drawing Inuyasha right now. Wait, I'd ditch Inuyasha for a bit and then draw a Ranma sequel where Ranma and Akane get married! Woohoo!  
  
Acknowledgement: Thanks, Ice, for prereading help! :)  
  
*******************************************************  
  
Why did I agree to this? Ranko wondered.  
  
The desert stretched before them in waves and waves of nearly pure white sand, the polished particles soft under the hooves of the flying horses. They had ridden hard through the night.  
  
Ranko's narrowed blue eyes surveyed the landscape through the slit in her head cloth. Nearly thirty miles away, she could see the rocky spire of Taal, the most prominent landmark in the region. When they reached that, they were truly beyond the reach of any stray Jin or Jiyan desert patrols.  
  
It was still early morning, but soon it would grow too hot to travel and they would have to rest until the evening. She glanced briefly around at her fellow riders. Akane and Ukyo were close behind her. She couldn't make out their expressions. Like her, their faces were covered by head-cloths designed to protect them from the stinging sand. The hide-wrapped handle of Ukyo's spatula jutted from her right shoulder.  
  
Ranko faced forward. For the first few hours of their escape, she'd been buoyed by the thought of finally escaping from Genma's iron hold. For nearly the first time in her life, she was not being watched by guards in Genma's command. Genma himself had hardly ever left his foster-son's side. But now, the excitement had begun to ebb. She was heartily regretting that she'd brought anyone else along at all.  
  
When Ranko first realized that she was free, her first instinct had been to escape to Jin, but she had never visited the place, and besides, how could she expect a warm welcome from the father who had sold her into slavery for land? She would have to consider any such course of action carefully.  
  
The first oasis eventually came into sight and they stopped at the sight of the gleaming turquoise pool surrounded by date trees.  
  
"These are beautiful horses, Ranko," Akane asked, dismounting. "Jiyan horses, am I right? Bred out in the desert?" She led her horse to the pool. In the desert, one always saw to one's horse first. No man or woman of the desert would ever drink before their horse did.  
  
Ranko nodded curtly as she urged her own horse forward, Ukyo close behind her. Akane's breezy good mood was getting on her nerves. Didn't the princess realize what a difficult journey lay ahead of them?  
  
"We've bred them in Jiya for thousands of years," she replied. "They are bred to be as tough as Jiyan warriors. You must have heard the legend of these horses."  
  
Ukyo and Akane shook their heads.  
  
"A long, long time ago," Ranko began, "Before we had built cities and still lived in tents, the leaders of the desert tribes gathered the best of their horses and penned them up without food or water near an oasis for six days and six nights. The horses grew hot and thirsty under the sun, of course, and even worse, they could smell the water.  
  
"On the seventh morning, they were released and the herd began to gallop towards the water. Then, the leaders came forth and whistled to their horses. Most of the herd continued towards the oasis, but a few wheeled and raced back towards their owners. These horses, the ones with the greatest heart and stamina, were selected to breed the greatest horses in the world."  
  
Ranko's companions turned to eye their four-legged companions with new respect.  
  
"That's the only way to create a true warrior, after all." The shorter girl had a glint in her eye. "Cut away the soft bits, the unnecessary things."  
  
She sounds like Ranma and the king, Akane thought uneasily. Or do all these people think alike?  
  
As the horses dipped their long necks and began to drink, Akane wasn't sure, but it seemed that Ranko stuck closer to Ukyo than she did to Akane. Did she feel safer with the prince because Ukyo was male? But no, Ranko had moved away again.  
  
How had Ranko intended to manage on her own, Akane wondered. "Did you know this was here?" she asked, nodding to the oasis.  
  
"Yes," Ranko said, leaning down to splash water on her hot face. "I've come here with patrols."  
  
"Patrols? Since when are women allowed to ride in patrols?" Akane was puzzled. Ranko appeared to be independent in a way that Akane had been led to believe was uncommon for women in Jiya.  
  
Ranko blinked and looked up at her with blank irritation, water streaming from her thick lashes.  
  
"Uh...They escorted me." Jumping up to avoid further explanations, Ranko slipped off her embroidered slippers and began to wade into the water. "I'm going for a swim." It would get her away from Akane's incessant chatter.  
  
The idea of explaining to Akane that she, Ranko, was really Ranma gave the redhead a throbbing headache. Akane, like any other warrior of the desert, knew the code of war. To let yourself be captured was shameful, and it was preferable to die in war. But the enemy had found no trace of Ranma at all, which made it looked like he'd run away, and THAT was even worse!  
  
Did she want to explain to Akane that the curse had saved her? How could she tell them she was really a guy? Admittedly, she'd been ready to tell Akane before the engagement only because it would have put a wrench in Genma's plans, and now that engagement had been indefinitely post phoned with no help from her.  
  
"Yeah, I'd love a wash." Akane nodded, and began to wade in. "What about you, Ukyo?"  
  
The prince, silent until now, stared at them both uneasily. Then he looked behind them, the way they'd come.  
  
"Aah, you ladies can take your turn, sugar. I think I'll just keep watch for a while. Once you two come out, I'll take my turn." After all, Ukyo reasoned, sitting down to dip both feet into the cool water, no one was removing clothes. No body parts would be displayed. Bathing might be safe.  
  
"So, Ukyo, what DO you have against Genma?" asked Ranko, now floating on her back in the water. She was honestly curious, and the enemy of your enemy could be your tool.....  
  
Akane studied the prince as well. He really did look uncomfortable. Probably just not used to being around women, she figured.  
  
Ukyo ground her back teeth at the mention of that son of a dog. But she owed it to her companions, she figured. She'd been so eager to escape last night she'd practically promised Akane the truth. Though telling them that she was a girl was NOT in her plans.  
  
"I was married last year," she said slowly, noting the surprised expressions on her listeners' faces. "It was a royal arrangement. I didn't have much choice in the matter."  
  
Ranko glanced at Akane, who was too busy picturing Ranma to notice.  
  
"The one I was getting married to was not of my choice, but I respected my father's wishes," Ukyo continued. She had to tread carefully here. "Tarou killed my spouse on our wedding night, and...I'm seeking revenge against him." She hadn't said that was WHY she was seeking revenge, Ukyo told herself. She hadn't lied. So they didn't know that she couldn't care less about the fat bastard she'd married.  
  
Akane looked shocked, but Ranko simply turned and began to stroke through the water.  
  
"However, my honor was diminished," Ukyo continued, "and I left the palace and my titles to wander until I heard news of him. One day, I learned that Genma was making a move to gain the land my spouse had been heir to. I developed a wicked suspicion."  
  
Ukyo felt her fingers grow cold and damp as she remembered the first time realization had dawned on her as she watched Genma's armies move to secure tiny Jira, Tsubasa's kingdom.  
  
"It was because the lord of that land no longer had an heir that he was susceptible to Genma's takeover of his land. Finally, I was lucky enough to capture an Arun bastard, who told me that his prince had received an anonymous message giving him details of how to enter the palace at Cantos, my home, unsuspected. The message was only signed 'One who will share your gain'. I realized it could only be Genma."  
  
Ranko had no trouble believing the pony-tailed prince. Genma was more than likely to do something so underhanded and contemptible. How had he made a daughter like Akane? Or...  
  
Ranko leaned out of the water. Did Akane perhaps possess cunning as well? She didn't know the princess that well. She'd talked to her perhaps twice in her life before the engagement ceremony. Genma's daughter would bear watching.  
  
"So do we have a plan?" Akane demanded, wading out of the water and going to stand at the foot of a date tree. She hitched up her wet, muddy trousers and began to shimmy up the trunk.  
  
"A plan?" Ranko tread water, looking coldly amused. "It will take us two weeks to get to Dara. On the way, we will no doubt run into wildlife, bandits, sandstorms, patrols from both sides of the war, though desert patrols from the city stop after the spire of Taal." She motioned towards the needle of rock jutting into the sky. "Then it's your luck which army scouts you run into after that. You're being optimistic to think we'll get through at all, princess. The desert is filled with unknown dangers."  
  
"I know that caravans often pass through this way," Ranko continued, "loaded with silks and riches from the ships that sail through the Gulf and unload at the towns on shore. They will give the war a wide berth, of course, but I believe they travel in that direction for a while."  
  
"It would be wise to travel with a caravan if we can find one," said Ukyo in his slow drawl. "You are chasing after the guards who have the Queen and her daughters, I'm chasing after Tarou but remember...Mousse is still out there, and from the sound of things, he's quite a powerful sorcerer. If he decides to return home to Dara as well, we don't want to be caught between the rock and the ifreet."  
  
"Ifreet?" Akane yipped from the top of the date tree. She had heard tales of the desert demons that haunted the lonely sands and hills. Ryouga had often scared her with tales of the Djinn, the Ifreet and fire salamanders. Suddenly, they came back to haunt her. But they were simply tales to scare children.  
  
She plucked off an enormous bunch of dates and let it drop to the ground. She slid down the ridged trunk of the tree.  
  
"Lunch!" she said, smiling.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Deep in the Jiyan palace, not far from the room Ranma had occupied as a boy, Genma paced his cell in cold fury, the clanking of his chains accompanying each step.  
  
How had the army gotten past his guards? There was sorcery here, without a doubt. Was Ranma dead? No! He'd trained his son too well. Was he in one of the cells with the other prisoners? None of the guards had spilled any information within Genma's hearing. He'd seen how they watched him. They treated him like the dangerous man he was.  
  
They had chained him and put him in their deepest, darkest cell, the one with the stoutest door.  
  
Let them try. He would soon get out of here and find answers. Find Ranma.  
  
  
  
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Evening found the companions on the move again. They had fed and watered their horses, and supplemented their own meager supplies with dates and water.  
  
The soft, white sand had given way to harder basalt. The land grew rockier and the horses were forced to slow down.  
  
Akane could follow the slowly rising range of the foothills to the west with her eyes. They were traveling parallel to that line. Eventually the range would lead to the mountains in the north. Beyond those mountains lay Dara.  
  
She studied Ranko's slim back, the confident, arrogant way she rode her horse. The girl was a puzzle. During their lunch of bread and dates, when Akane had tried to discover Ranko's background, she'd been reticent and eventually had simply curled up and gone to sleep without another word. It was almost as though she regretted talking to Akane at all.  
  
Why was Ranko leading them, anyway? Hadn't this journey been Akane's idea? The redhead had assumed leadership so naturally that Akane had fallen into step.  
  
Beside her, Ukyo rode with practiced skill. The prince was...obsessed, driven, Akane mused. He rode with his gaze always fixed ahead as though his sharp green eyes could make out Tarou's form from hundreds of miles away.  
  
Suddenly Ranko raised her hand, motioning them to stop. They slowed their horses to a walk, finally stopping.  
  
Ranko pulled her head-cloth away from her lower face.  
  
"I heard voices," she said shortly. "They carried with the breeze, which means there's a patrol ahead of us." All three of them looked to the north.  
  
"If the patrol is friendly, we can warn them of the massacre at the palace." Akane shaded her eyes with a hand and searched the horizon.  
  
A company of riders crested a sand dune. They wore the white uniforms and yellow sashes of the Jiyan city patrol. One of them, presumably the leader, said something when they spotted the trio and the company began to trot towards them.  
  
They completely ignored a baffled Ranko and Akane and paused before Ukyo.  
  
"Hey, you!" Ranko was infuriated. "Why don't you talk to me?! Hey! Am I invisible, you flea-bitten…?"  
  
The captain ignored her. "Who are you?" he asked Ukyo. "Are these your women?"  
  
Ukyo glanced at Ranko but saw no forthcoming help there. The redhead seemed to be choking. "I am Ukyo Kuonji. We are escaping from Jiya. A small army of Arun tribesmen somehow entered the palace and captured it."  
  
"What?" The captain looked shocked. "It is impossible! How could King Genma lose the palace? It is impenetrable!" Behind him his officers stared at each other in dismay.  
  
Ukyo shrugged. "We believe it was sorcery. A few people escaped, but most were captured."  
  
The captain wheeled his horse to face his men. "We must ride to Jiya and aid…the king!" He quailed at the thought of freeing Genma, who would just as likely punish him in his rage.  
  
"I'd suggest finding the other patrols first. Strength in numbers, you know."  
  
The captain paused and nodded. He spurred his horse, leading his men away. The trio stared at the departing men.  
  
Ranko was puffing angrily, her shoulders hunched and her fists clenched around her reins.  
  
Akane shot her a sympathetic look. "It's not unusual for officials to ignore a woman in favor of a man, Ranko." It was common in Jin, too. Men were considered the leader in any group and thus, the only ones worth talking to.  
  
Ranko shot her an annoyed look. "Shut the hell up, princess. Nobody asked you." She turned her horse around in Akane's astonished face and said, "Let's go, we're losing the light."  
  
Akane's astonishment gave way to a slow burning anger. Just WHO did Ranko think she was talking to? Akane was getting fed up of the redhead's snotty attitude.  
  
Ukyo swallowed a grin and urged her horse after the fuming girls. This was proving to be an interesting journey.  
  
******************************************  
  
Two hours later, Ukyo was no longer smiling. If she had to listen to the bickering of those two for one more second…  
  
"…and just remember that *I* saved your sorry behind aaaa…hey! Look at that!" Akane stared and pointed.  
  
Ukyo and Ranko stared at an arm sticking out of the sand, the fingers twitching slightly.  
  
"Someone's in trouble!" Akane dismounted her horse and ran forward to kneel and claw at the sand around the arm. Ukyo and Ranko, horrified, proceeded to do the same.  
  
Eventually, a dusty head came into view and the owner of the hand began to choke and cough sand from their nostrils.  
  
"Don't worry! We'll get you out. Just hang on!" Akane urged. Eventually, they had dug down to the shoulders. Ranko reached underneath the arms and hauled the poor creature out.  
  
It was a girl. She lay choking on the ground, sand in her hair and clothes. Those clothes consisted of harem pants of a thin, see-through material, and a short, jewelled blouse.  
  
"Are you okay?" Akane couldn't believe that the girl had survived. "What happened?"  
  
The girl finally looked up at them. "It was a sudden sandstorm." Her voice trembled. She looked around at them, and her gaze fastened on Ukyo.  
  
"Oh kind sir, thank you for saving me." Her eyelashes fluttered prettily, and she looked away with a blush. Ukyo snorted in amusement.  
  
You efforts are wasted on *me*, sister, she thought. Ranko, on the other hand, couldn't take her eyes off the girl.  
  
"It was no problem." Ukyo helped the girl up.  
  
"Hey, I'm the one who…" Akane was cut off as the girl began to cry.  
  
"My master left me here," she sobbed brokenly. "I was a pleasure slave in his harem, but he grew displeased with me and abandoned me here. And the sandstorm came out of nowhere." Ukyo patted her back awkwardly.  
  
A pleasure slave, huh? Ranko mused. Too bad Ukyo got her first. She really was an eyeful. I wonder what Akane would look like in transparent harem pants and a tiny top like that…  
  
"Ouch!" She rubbed her head and glared at Akane. "Why'd you hit me?"  
  
"Sorry. I don't know what came over me."  
  
Ukyo led the girl to her horse and helped her into the saddle. Around them, the breeze was growing stronger and sand began to swirl into the air.  
  
Akane and Ranko pulled their head cloths over their noses and headed for their horses. The wind became stronger.  
  
"It's another sandstorm!" the girl shrieked. "Please kind sir, allow me to lead you to the cave we last sheltered in. We might get there in time, as this storm is not coming as fast as the last one."  
  
Ukyo glanced at her companions, drawing her own head cloth around her face. They nodded.  
  
The girl guided them back the way they had come and then moved away from their trail towards the foothills. The wind was blowing incredibly strongly and sand was collecting in Ukyo's eyes and around her nose. Her horse too was having trouble fighting the wind.  
  
Eventually, the ground grew stonier and they came upon an entrance to a cave in small hill. Gladly they led their horses inside. With their first few steps, they felt immensely better. Compared to the howling of the sand storm, the quiet of the cave was deep and peaceful.  
  
They dismounted and led their horses forward, the girl now trailing shyly behind them.  
  
Ranko, now in the lead, came to a shocked stop. "What the…" Akane and Ukyo followed suit.  
  
The inner chamber of the cave was large, the ceiling a good thirty feet over their heads. The floor was laid with Persian carpets of every size and color, and a large, black cauldron heated over a big fire in the far corner. All sorts of bric-a-brac littered the chamber.  
  
But the most astonishing thing of all was that in the middle of the chamber stood a gigantic, blue-skinned being, wearing a turban and loose, flowing trousers. It grinned down at them with teeth filed down to sharp points.  
  
"Ah, guests. Just in time for dinner." His voice boomed down at them from a height of twenty feet.  
  
Akane, Ranko and Ukyo stared up wordlessly at the creature.  
  
"It's a…"  
  
"…demon…"  
  
"…a spirit…"  
  
The creature laughed. "Oh, little people, you are not very familiar with the tales your nurse told you? I am a jinni, of the Djinn-folk." He bent, his blue face descending towards them until they could see the glowing fire that made up his eyes.  
  
"I don't care what you are!" Ranko did a high kick that was supposed to crush the jinni's leg, but she merely bounced off with little effect. Undeterred, she spun around into another attack as Akane and Ukyo joined in. The two however were sorely puzzled to see Ranko fight.  
  
So much for Jiyan girls not fighting, Akane thought to herself.  
  
The jinni merely laughed and reaching down picked them up in his hands. He examined them carefully. Ranko and Ukyo suddenly remembered that the Djinn were known to see through illusions and disguises.  
  
"Two girls! Ahh, girls are rare here in the desert. Such tender meat." The jinni sighed with pleasure.  
  
Two girls? Ranko and Ukyo dared to breathe. The jinni hadn't seen through their disguises. Akane, of course, was not happy to hear that she was supposedly a Djinn delicacy. She momentarily overcame her childhood fear of monsters.  
  
"Since when do the Djinn eat human flesh?" she demanded.  
  
"They normally do not." The jinni bared his teeth. "I, however, discovered a craving for it."  
  
"Master, you are pleased?" The pleasure slave walked forward into the light, bowing before the jinni. The trio had forgotten about her.  
  
"You traitor!" Ranko was furious. "When I get my hands on you…!"  
  
Ukyo couldn't stand the thought that she had taken the traitor onto her horse.  
  
"You're asking for trouble, you sneaky bimbo," she growled. "You really shouldn't have messed with us."  
  
The girl tossed her head. "You are a man, and all men think with only one thing. You never stopped to think that I might be leading you into a trap."  
  
The jinni tossed back his head and began to laugh. "A man? You are mistaken, little houri. This one is not the man. See?" He calmly tugged at Ukyo's tunic, ripping it away despite her struggles, revealing the tight cloth underneath that bound her breasts.  
  
Akane and Ranko stared at her in shock.  
  
"You really ARE a girl," Akane breathed. Ranko went pale. Tarou had been right. Ukyo couldn't believe the jinni had known she was a girl. But…hadn't he said they were only two girls? Had she fooled him briefly?  
  
"THIS is the boy," the jinni said. "I'm afraid I see only the truth. It took me a while to realize that you are cursed by Jusenkyou and that you wear the appearance of a female."  
  
He poured a ladle of steaming water from his cauldron over Ranko, who fought so hard to avoid it that she almost escaped. But not quite.  
  
"Ranma?!?!"  
  
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Whew! I have more written up, but part 8 is not finished, sooo…please tell me what you thought of this so far…the Arabian Nights elements are coming in, but hey, this *is* the desert! :) 


	8. Plan your work, and work your plan!

DISCLAIMER: I disclaim that Ranma and co. belong to me. :)

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"Ranma?!?!"

Ukyo and Akane stared at their erstwhile companion. The red-haired girl had, somehow, been replaced by the Jiyan prince. They simply couldn't believe it. He avoided their eyes and shook his head, sending drops of water flying.

The jinni smiled and said, "My, this is interesting. It is rare indeed to see a human with a curse." He reached out and flipped open the door to an iron cage and deposited his prisoners inside. "I shall consider it over supper."

In one lightning-quick move, he closed his fingers around his pretty helper. 

Her eyes grew wide. "Nooo, my lord! You need me..." The prisoners winced as they heard the sound of her neck being snapped.

"What a stupid girl." The jinni frowned. "If I continued to use her as bait, soon humans would get wise to the trap and avoid this area. I do not need you any longer, little houri. Especially now since I have enough food to fill my belly for a while."

Ranma, Akane and Ukyo watched in horror as the jinni calmly twisted off the girl's limbs and dropped them into the huge pot, one by one.

"That's disgusting!" Ranma gripped the bars angrily. Even if he had been angry with the girl, no one deserved *that* fate. "That guy's really going to eat her!"

The jinni left the cauldron to boil and walked away to the back of the cave, leaving the trio alone to stare at the boiling cauldron.

Akane rounded on Ranma. "Okay, what's going on here?" Her gaze switched to Ukyo. Then she swung back to Ranma.

"So, I was traveling with a girl and a guy. But..." She pointed at Ukyo, who flinched slightly. "...*you're* the girl, and..." Her accusing finger swung back to Ranma, who gave her a cornered look. "...*you're* the guy...Not the other way around..." She began to massage her temples. "What on earth is going on here? Where's Ranko?"

"I thought at first that the jinni conjured you up by magic, sugar," Ukyo eyed Ranma thoughtfully. "But I've heard of Jusenkyou. You have fallen in a cursed spring, no?"

"And why are *you* dressed as a boy, for crying out loud?" Ranma wanted to know.

Akane glared at them. Both of them seemed happy to ignore their own deceptions and turn the focus on the other.

"Look! I'll ask the questions around here, since both of you have been lying to me totally. At least, Ukyo is still Ukyo..."She stopped. "Your name IS Ukyo, right?"

The prince...princess? nodded.

"Ok...YOU." Akane pointed at Ranma. "Explain how Ranko disappeared and you're here when I thought you were dead or imprisoned."

"Stop jabbin' that finger at me, princess," Before he broke it. Ranma scowled. "I didn't lie to you, exactly. Ukyo here showed up before I could tell you. Genma and I were training at the oasis of Jusenkyou. It's got these tiny individual springs. They're all cursed, and I fell into the spring of drowned girl. That means that when cold water hits me, I become a girl. Hot water changes me back." He shuddered. "Genma wasn't very happy when he got back to the city."

Ukyo was nodding. "So you somehow turned into a girl during the fight at the palace, and that's why they couldn't find you."

Akane was incredulous. "You actually believe this silly story?" she asked.

"I've heard the legend of the cursed springs." The pony-tailed girl was sadly examining the shredded remains of her tunic. "Besides, he owes me a fight, so I can't say I'm unhappy to find two birds in one journey. I'm inclined to believe him."

"Well, I'm not!" Akane huffed. Of all the ridiculous things to come up with! But then what was the truth?

"And what about you, Ukyo? What's your story?" Ranma had given up on convincing Akane. The girl was surprisingly stubborn for a highborn female. He started to pace their cage, examining it for weaknesses, looking for a way out.

"I didn't lie to you folks, either. My father is the king of Cantos, and Tarou did kill my husband, not my wife as you thought. But you see, I don't...care about that." Ukyo moved to look out through the bars. "Tsubasa was a nightmare, and I only agreed to the marriage out of my sense of duty." She took a deep breath. "I want...I want revenge against Tarou because he...forced me on my...wedding night...after...killing..." She'd never spoken of this to anyone before, and she was horrified to find her voice breaking.

"Oh, Ukyo." A wave of compassion washed through Akane and she went forward and hugged Ukyo from behind. "I'm so sorry. I wish we'd killed him when we had the chance."

"No!" Ukyo turned to face them. "It's better this way. It leaves him for me!"

"Much as I hate to interrupt the male-bashing..." Ranma tested an iron bar. "...I'd like to ask you ladies to see if you can find any cracks in this cage." 

Besides, he didn't really blame Tarou, Ranma thought with a hidden smirk. He imagined Ukyo as a bride, waiting on her wedding bed for her groom. Any red-blooded male would take advantage of the opportunity.

He allowed himself to imagine Akane on their hypothetical wedding night. She'd be sitting on an enormous bed, her head properly covered by a veil...He shook his head. First things first.

The trio hit and kicked every corner of the cage. Ukyo even used her spatula on the bars, but it was hopeless. They were truly trapped.

"You won't get out that way."

"Huh? Who said that?" Ranma searched for the source of the voice.

"I'm here, sonny, behind this glass ball."

"Look!" Akane pointed.

"Aagh! It's a ghoul!" Ranma goggled at the wizened little creature peering at them through the bars of another iron cage.

Whap! The end of a large stick hit him on the head.

"Treat your elders with respect, sonny!" The creature, it looked like a really old woman, pulled her stick upright and studied the three of them. "I've been listening to your sob stories. I think we can help each other."

"You can help us escape, honored elder?" Akane thought the old woman looked as trapped as they were. "How did you get here?"

"My name is Cologne, child. I've been traveling, looking for my great-granddaughter. She ran away from home a year ago, and I had a dream telling me that it was time to search for her. Unfortunately, this jinni caught my companions and I off guard. I was saved till last. I fear my time will come soon."

"More like she's too tough and stringy to eat!" Ranma stood at a safe distance and smirked at the roof of the cage, his fingers laced behind his head.

"So how can we get out?" Ukyo asked hastily.

"See that?" The old woman pointed to something behind them. They turned to see. "See that green bottle in the far corner?" Something like that indeed propped against the far wall, amid rolls of silk and spilled bags of jewels no doubt taken from consumed travelers.

"The one with the funny markings on it?" The bottle Cologne was pointing at was made of opaque glass, with a long, slender neck and a fat base. It was corked shut.

"That's the one." Cologne's voice grew urgent. "Listen carefully, children. I've been here many days and nights, and learned some things. You must know how King Solomon trapped many of the Djinn in bottles and locked the bottles with his seal."

"Now that bottle," she continued, "is the one that used to hold our blue friend. Somehow he broke out of it. However, the seal is still on the bottle. If he goes too near it, he will be sucked in. Since the bottle cannot be destroyed, he has kept it with him for fear someone will find it and try to put him back in it. And that...is what we must do."

"Yeah, just ask politely, I suppose." Ukyo propped her hands on her hips, wondering if Cologne's senility was a symptom of being locked in the cave for so long. "Say, Mr. Jinni, would you like to go back to your itty-bitty living space, cos' we all don't want to be your dinner. Buh-bai!"

"We'll have to trick him." Cologne scowled in thought.

Ranma brightened. "Yeah! Maybe if we told him that we didn't believe someone so large could fit into something so small, he'd get so mad he'd pop right in there...what?" The three women were looking at him contemptuously.

Ukyo shook her head. "That's old news, sugar. Some fisherman did that already."

Akane sniggered. "Yeah, Ranma, ever hear of Scheherazade?" Ranma gave her a blank look. She sighed. "Never mind. Look, I think the best way is..." She began to whisper.

Two days later, it was Ranma's turn. The jinni approached their cage, his footsteps thundering in the cavern.

"Well, it is time for you to fulfill your life's purpose," he said. " That is, to provide me nourishment. A plump little boy, before I enjoy the little girls."

Plump? Me??? Ranma was incredibly insulted.

 The jinni opened the cage slightly, and inserted his hand so that it allowed no escape, his blue fingers grasping for Ranma.

Ukyo, who had spent the last couple of days sharpening the edge of her spatula against an iron bar, whipped it over her shoulder and slammed the edge with all her might against the jinni's thumb.

"Aaaah!" The jinni, startled, pulled his hand back in reflex, leaving the door open just for a moment. But that was all the time the trio needed.

"Go for it!" Ranma, Akane and Ukyo dashed through the opening and dispersed, Ranma slightly slower than the others.

"Grrrr!" The jinni chased after Ranma, who laughed and slipped through his giant legs.

 "Ranma, look out!" Akane yelled in warning. Ranma glanced back to see that the jinni's lower half had turned to smoke and that he was hovering in place.

"You cannot escape me, mortal. You are making a mistake to even try." With those words, the jinni dove after Ranma, who turned and fled across the room, leaping and bouncing off giant chairs and furnishings.

"Quick, Akane!"

"I'm trying, Ukyo!"

Ukyo and Akane had reached the opposite end of the room and tilted the green bottle over. They strained at the cork, which gave way slowly, inch by excruciating inch.

"Yaagh!" Ranma barely missed being grabbed by the jinni as he jumped off yet another chair and landed, teetering, on the rim of the cauldron.

"Ow! Hot hot hot hot hot!" Ranma danced along the circumference, trying to avoid the jinni's grasping hands.

"That's the right way, boy," the jinni laughed. "A little push, and all will be as it should be!"

"Dream on, you windbag!" Ranma leapt off the cauldron, hoping the two girls would hurry up. Why was he trusting two women anyway? You have no choice, his head replied.

"That's it!" The cork came free with a pop and Akane and Ukyo began to roll the bottle across the floor.

Cologne watched it all with interest. If the children succeeded, she could continue her journey and find her great-granddaughter...

"This is ridiculous!" Running across the giant tabletop, everything in Ranma told him to stand and fight, but he knew that fighting a magical being was as impractical as trying to fight smoke. And he was running out of tabletop..

"Jump, Ranma!" Akane yelled.

"Khaitan..." Ranma reached the edge of the table and dove off. "Come and get me, you big lout!"

"Grrrrr....aaaaaargh!" The jinni followed Ranma over the edge of the table and swooped down. He stared at the two figures holding up the green bottle at the bottom that grew closer and closer..."Noooooooo...!"

There was an enormous sucking sound, as of air being pulled through a small hose, and then silence. Akane and Ukyo stared through the dark green glass at the angry, smoky swirls within.

"It worked." Ranma sat up. He'd seen the bottle as he fell, and had speedily twisted in mid air to avoid it.

Akane and Ukyo gave whoops of laughter and hugged each other. Ranma began to dust himself off.

"Hey, you three. Don't forget about me!" Cologne grinned down at them from her cage. I'll live to see another sunset, it seems, she thought to herself. That boy...shows promise.

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Notes: Ok, this update was mainly due to y'all's encouraging reviews. Completely. See, yes, I wasn't lying about the 'lifeblood' bit. But I've got exams coming up, so the next update won't be till next week....But please do review this....tell me what you thought.    


	9. Changing Scenes

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi is truly amazing to have created Ranma & Co and put them through everything she did. Like wow! :)  
  
Notes: I guess you might say this was a filler episode, to let you know what everybody's up to. It's fairly short, but the next one should be longer, and it should be up in a few days. Thanks for all the exam wishes! ^_^ They're going well, so far, but I needed a break and so here's Ch 9! :)  
  
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Nabiki Saotome had never seen so much sand in her life. She stealthily massaged her sore bottom, and glared across the campfire at her Arun captors. She hated horses, she decided. Palanquins were made for a reason, after all.  
  
"We've been riding for a week, now." Kasumi looked up from where she was stirring the contents of the big, clay pot that hung over the fire. Her red caftan somehow remained clean. "Do you think we'll be rescued before we reach Dara, Nabiki?"  
  
"Don't count on it, sis." Nabiki brushed the sand off her sandaled feet. It felt so gritty! "In fact, who do you think is going to come and rescue us in the first place?"  
  
"I'm sure everyone wasn't captured, Nabiki. We mustn't lose hope."  
  
"No, your sister's right, Kasumi." Nodoka smiled at them grimly. "We cannot hope for rescue from anyone at the palace. You saw the destruction before the soldiers took us. They are all dead or captured."  
  
"Mother…" Nabiki stared at the queen somberly. Was the queen right? But then…  
  
"But then what will happen to us, Mother?" Kasumi asked, smiling gently, only her eyes betraying her fear and confusion.  
  
Nodoka smack her curled fist on her palm. "We must save ourselves, girls!" she cried.  
  
"Save…?" Nabiki could feel her face growing slack in surprise.  
  
"Ourselves?" Kasumi looked blank.  
  
The two princesses stared at each other, carefully feeling out this new concept.  
  
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Fools. Utter fools.  
  
Genma sneaked through the halls of his palace in panda form, swatting aside the Arun guards who tried to get in his way. Escaping from his cell had been fairly easy, once he'd splashed himself with water from his meal and driven the guards into a panic over where the king had disappeared and where the panda had come from.  
  
Most importantly, he'd learned from another guard that Ranma had neither been captured nor killed. His whereabouts were a mystery, and the consensus was that he must have somehow escaped.  
  
Genma smacked his paws together and went in search of hot water and a fast horse.  
  
I'm coming for you, Ranma. And then I'm going to find this Kuno, whoever the hell he is.  
  
******************************************  
  
A duck wearing glasses sat on the back of a horse that was leaving behind an oasis filled with many small springs.  
  
Jusenkyou, thought Mousse to himself. So that's how you escaped me, Ranma. I searched all over this place, but you were nowhere to be found. Luckily I ran across…  
  
The duck looked down at his feathers…I ran *into* Jusenkyou, and I understand how you tricked me. But my King and I need you. I *will* find you.  
  
******************************************  
  
Far away from all this, in Dara, Kuno sat stiffly on his throne, covered completely by his golden robe and gloves. He mused on his predicament.  
  
"Ranma Saotome. Where are you? Come to me. I need you to fulfill my destiny."  
  
"Come free me, Ranma."  
  
*******************************************  
  
"Oh, no…. look at that!"  
  
Ranma, Akane and Ukyo sat astride their horses and stared down with horror. At their horses' feet, the land dropped away into a deep valley where two armies clashed and fought. The noise was unbelievable.  
  
"So this is where the Arun are fighting with the Jinian and Jiyan armies." Cologne, seated behind Ranma, considered the battle thoughtfully.  
  
"We can't go that way! We'll be caught in the middle of the battle!" Akane turned in her saddle to look back the way they'd come. The foothills stretched across the horizon as far as she could see. "We've got to go back."  
  
"She's right, sugar," Ukyo confirmed. "We've gotta find another way."  
  
Ranma stared down at the battle taking place below him, feeling a strong urge to go down and join his army, perhaps even take command. He could leave all these females up here to continue their journey by themselves. They made him uncomfortable. He found himself changing somehow, being around them these past few days.  
  
After all, they could protect themselves. Akane and Ukyo were pretty competent fighters, and Cologne…  
  
A scene from two days before flashed through his mind.  
  
They'd left the jinni's cave and were making their way north, Cologne having decided to join them.  
  
"Cursed to be a girl, eh?" Cologne tut-tutted from behind Ranma. "How is it affecting your martial arts?"  
  
"It's become hell!" Ranma scowled. "Now I have to work twice as hard to do the same things I could do as a boy."  
  
"Because you're smaller…"  
  
"Yeah! My reach is shorter, I'm weaker, and I have to jump higher, faster." Ranma remembered the fights he'd had with Genma after the curse. He had lost more times than he cared to remember.  
  
"Faster…" Cologne mused. "You realize what you need to do, don't you, boy?"  
  
Ranma twisted in his saddle. "What?"  
  
"You must increase your speed. It will compensate for your lesser strength and reach."  
  
"My speed, huh?"  
  
Later, when they'd stopped, Cologne had illustrated the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken technique for him. He'd practiced determinedly for the last two days until he learnt it.  
  
Now, looking down at the battle raging below, Ranma's urge to join the battle fought with his desire to reach Dara and confront this Kuno. Who knew, he might even find his sisters.  
  
Well, the army's doing fine without me, he decided. I might as well keep going.  
  
"Okay." Straightening, Ranma turned his horse around. "We'll have to take the long way around. I don't know the way too well from that direction, do you, old ghoul? Ouch!"  
  
Cologne righted her stick and folded her tiny arms. "Learn respect, boy. However, in this instance, the wisdom of my age fails me. I don't know the long route anymore than you do."  
  
"Well then," They had all turned around, and Ukyo scanned the line of foothills now facing them. "Looks like we'll have to find ourselves a caravan."  
  
Luckily, that didn't take long. They hadn't been traveling more than a few hours before they spotted a camp of raised tents, grazing camels, and men going about their tasks. Ranma hailed the camp.  
  
A short, richly dressed man spotted them and shouted back a greeting. He didn't wait for them to arrive but instead trotted up to them.  
  
"Greetings, fellow travelers!" He smiled and wiped his brow. "Warm day for you to be out."  
  
Ranma dismounted and found himself being embraced by the shorter man. He shuddered at the touch out of reflex and moved away.  
  
"Welcome to my humble camp!" The man smiled at them all. "I am Cassim, the leader of this caravan. I bid you and your harem welcome."  
  
"We're not his harem!" Akane cried furiously.  
  
"Say you so?" Cassim looked at them with curiosity. "I imagined, three women and a young man…"  
  
"You thought *she* was part of my harem…?" Ranma pointed with a trembling finger at Cologne, who preened. Akane and Ukyo simply looked green.  
  
"Yes, well…enough of this." Ukyo sighed. "My name is Ukyo Kuonji, and we've been traveling for days."  
  
"Please, come into my tent. Make yourselves comfortable!" Cassim bowed and led them to a green, silk tent. Inside, he served them tiny cups of rich coffee and date pastries.  
  
"How is the business of your caravan doing?" Ranma asked politely, trying to remember any manners he might have picked up in court.  
  
Cassim hung his head. "Ah, good sir, your perspicacity has seen to the heart of my troubles."  
  
"Say what?" Ranma asked. "I...I mean...go on."  
  
"Good sir, my caravan has been prosperous for many years, carrying silks and spices from the ships that unload at the sea towns, carrying them to the cities beyond the mountains." Cassim wiped away a tear. "Now, however, bandits have begun attacking caravans that pass through the foothills, stealing our goods. We have tried employing guards but..."  
  
"Hm?" Cologne studied the caravan master. "What is it? Why haven't your guards worked?"  
  
"It's very strange, revered grandmother. A strong wind springs up out of nowhere and blows many of them away! The bandits who come charging down easily pick off the ones that are left. I am afraid that soon I will be operating at a loss."  
  
"Don't worry!" Ranma leapt up. "To thank you for your gracious hospitality, we will repay you by guarding your caravan." He was starting to get the hang of all this flowery speech, Ranma decided. It wasn't that hard.  
  
Cassim blinked. "All of you?"  
  
"Don't worry, Cassim." Akane smiled at him. "We'll take care of it. You'll be safe."  
  
"That's right, sugar. Bring it on!" Ukyo grinned at Ranma and Akane, who smiled back, happy that they had secured a place with the caravan without arousing comments or suspicion.  
  
"Oh, thank you!" Cassim bowed to them again. " It is early afternoon, and we shall be leaving shortly. I must go get ready."  
  
As soon as he left, they all began to talk.  
  
"If you'll excuse me, I think I'll put my bindings back on. I've no desire to be considered part of your 'harem', Ranma." Ukyo slipped behind a handy screen.  
  
"What are you doing?!" Ranma yelled. Akane had discovered a flask of water in the tent and now she up-ended it over Ranma's head and watched the transformation in slack-jawed astonishment.  
  
"Amazing!" Akane couldn't believe her eyes, even though she'd watched Ranma become a girl right before her eyes. "And hot water turns you back?"  
  
"Yes, you dummy!" Ranma shrieked. "And where am I going to find hot wate...Ow! Hot!"  
  
"You were saying...?"Akane smirked at Ranma and put down the carafe of hot water Cassim had used to make their coffee.  
  
"Grrrr...Someday, princess, I'm gonna take you to Jusenkyou and throw you in the Spring of Drowned Idiot. Oh wait! Hot water won't fix that for *you*, will it? So sad!"  
  
"He deserved that," Cologne noted, watching Akane break an urn over Ranma's head.  
  
*****************************************************  
  
Comments? Reviews? Click the button and let me know what you thought! 


	10. An escape on an Arabian Night

DISCLAIMER: Takahashi-sama created Ranma's playground. I'm just playing on the swings, completely without any rights.  
  
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"Wait a minute!" Nabiki peeked out of her bedroll, trying not to inhale. It smelled strongly of the Arun soldier who'd lent it to her and she knew he hadn't washed in weeks. She could almost taste the raw odor of sweat and unwashed male at the back of her tongue. She wanted to spit, except that would be uncouth.  
  
It was late in the evening and the Arun soldiers had stopped for a rest of a few hours. The three women were allowed to sleep together, though many a soldier had offered to join them amid male laughter and ribald jokes. Only their fear of Mousse kept them away.  
  
Kasumi and Nodoka, huddled close by in their own bedrolls, regarded Nabiki questioningly.  
  
"I want to escape as much as you do, but…" Nabiki whispered. "…but there's no way I'm returning to Jiya."  
  
Her sister and mother looked stunned.  
  
"Not return? But Nabiki, where will we go?" asked Kasumi, frowning.  
  
"Surely you don't mean Jin, do you, Nabiki?" Nodoka whispered, a spark of interest lighting in her eyes.  
  
"No, it's too close to Jiya. Father will never allow such a smirch on his honor.He'd never allow his women, his property, under the roof of someone who was until just a few years ago, our enemy. He will most definitely ride to Jin and drag us back in chains." Here, Nabiki paused and took a deep breath, feeling the cool desert air fill her lungs. What she was about to say stunned her with its boldness. "We should go north. Past Dara, where these Arun are headed, and keep traveling north."  
  
"Nabiki! That's where the barbarians live!" Kasumi cried, shocked. A soldier stirred in the darkness and she immediately lowered her voice, her slim fingers clutching the edge of the bedroll. "We could die out there! Who knows what such a lawless land is like?"  
  
The younger princess set her jaw. "Well, I'm not going back to that tyrant. How can you consider it, Kasumi? Or you, Mother? I'd rather eke out my days as a hermit in the mountains."  
  
At these words, the three of them turned their heads to look to the north, where they'd seen the faint smoky line of the range visible on the horizon earlier that day.  
  
"I have never been out of Jiya before, Nabiki," Nodoka mused. "However, there is some merit in what you say. Almost anything would be preferable to returning to that hell. However…first things first."  
  
They glanced at the sleeping soldiers.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Ranma watched as the caravan slowly began moving in single file. In the lead was fat little Cassim, resplendent in a silk turban and bright garments, riding a mule. It was said that camels were too stupid to get anywhere by themselves and thus had to be led.  
  
Behind the mule, a long line of camels laden with precious stones, spices, silks and gold began to move. On either side of the line rode the guards on swift horses. Ranma and Akane rode at the rear with a few more guards while Ukyo and Cologne rode farther up the line.  
  
In the late afternoon, the heat was decreasing. The foothills were turning purple in the evening light. A welcome breeze ruffled Ranma's hair where he'd pushed his head cloth away. He was glad that they both wore the loose cotton trousers and tunics they'd found in the djinni's cave.  
  
"Ranma…"  
  
"Hm..?" Ranma turned to face Akane, who was looking slightly uncomfortable.  
  
"…." Akane stared at him with big, brown eyes, her head cloth encircling her face. She looked away. "Nothing."  
  
"What? Akane, what is it?" Ranma prodded.  
  
She turned back. "Do you think…Nabiki and Kasumi and…do you think they'll be okay?"  
  
Ranma blinked at her. He'd almost forgotten about his sisters and his mother. They were such a remote part of life back at the palace, that they hardly ever crossed his mind at all unless he came in direct contact with them.  
  
In fact, after he'd been weaned from breast-feeding, he'd had hardly anything at all to do with women, except the whore that had been brought to him when he turned fifteen. As far as he knew, his mother and sisters simply lived in the palace, doing whatever women did, staying out of Genma's way. But everyone did that.  
  
And now, on this journey, his mind had been occupied with his traveling companions and getting them through the desert safely. He'd never seen a warrior woman before, and here he was suddenly traveling with three of them.  
  
As for the women of his family…  
  
"I'd say we have to catch up with them as soon as we can," he said. A few days ago, he might simply have said that Akane was wasting her time, that they would no doubt find the violated and murdered bodies of the women in a gully somewhere.  
  
I KNEW traveling with women would make me soft, he told himself.  
  
Akane found herself worrying, though. She knew that the soldiers would never have taken women with them without a specific reason. As the afternoon wore on, she searched the sandy ground for any trace of the soldiers's passage, but found none.  
  
The evening passed without incident and they traveled through the night into the early morning, taking advantage of the sunless sky, stopping when the sun rose to shine fiercely on them again.  
  
Cassim had a tent erected for the use of Akane, Ukyou and Cologne. Ranma, as a man, was not allowed to sleep in the women's tent and shared sleeping space with the guards.  
  
Akane lay on her sleeping roll and listened to the faint even, breathing of her tent mates. She missed sleeping outside at night, right under the stars, watching them twinkling coldly until she fell asleep. She was astonished at the amount of stars out here in the desert. In the city, the lights from houses, lamps and buildings all outshone the more unearthly beauty of the stars. But out here, she'd seen that even behind the millions of bright stars, dimmer stars shone like tiny counterpoints, dusting the sky with brilliance.  
  
Luckily, the thick walls of the tent allowed the interior to be dark enough that the sunlight didn't disturb them overly.  
  
She sighed. At the beginning of this journey, she had been instilled with the rush of confidence and exhilaration she'd gotten from beating those raiding soldiers, and it had powered her determination to find and rescue her birth-mother, Kasumi and Nabiki.  
  
Now Akane wondered what would happen after they'd accomplished that. They must find Kuno. And what about Ranma? How did he feel about everything? He seemed to tolerate them all, at best. Did he remember that she was his fiancee? Did he care?  
  
Oh, Ranma…Akane sighed, half asleep, and then sank into dreams.  
  
****************************************************************  
  
They'd been traveling for two more days, when disaster struck.  
  
A howling wind came at them out of nowhere, with no warning, no picking up of speed, just a blast of air like a gigantic fist that slapped the caravan, sending camels off balance, the loads on their humps teetering. The horses whinnied in fear as sand swirled into their nostrils. The guards and drivers hurriedly put up their head cloths to cover their faces.  
  
Ranma looked around for Akane, but the sand was stinging his eyes and he took a moment to get his horse under control.  
  
A guard screamed, and suddenly there was mayhem. Dark figures appeared in their midst, wielding sabers and shrieking blood-curdling war-cries, fighting the mounted guards.  
  
Akane and Ukyou didn't stop to think as they waded into the fight. Ranma was about to join them, when Cologne dropped onto his horse and he heard her dry voice behind him.  
  
"Forget them, boy," she said. "Look for the source of the problem."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Ranma asked.  
  
"The real problem is the wind, boy." With that, Cologne hopped away. Ranma looked around. What did she mean? The wind? The source of the wind? Surely the attackers had simply taken advantage of the…..  
  
But no. The wind had come up too quickly. Even in the desert, there were signs of approaching sandstorms to those who knew to watch for them. And these bandits could not have taken advantage of a natural phenomenon so fast. Which meant…..  
  
"Dark sorcery!" Ranma growled to himself. He had no liking for sorcery in any form, and especially since his curse, he didn't like the thought of anyone being afflicted with it. He urged his horse away from the fighting, passing between two confused camels. On the other side, on a low bluff, he saw a figure holding something.  
  
Ranma grinned viciously to himself and drove his horse towards the figure. The closer he got, the stronger the wind became, but the horse persevered, until Ranma realized that the figure was that of a young man, blowing on a horn. No sound came from the horn, but in front of him, dust swirled and blew towards the hapless caravan. Behind the man, no rising sand was visible.  
  
The prince drew his saber and sent it whistling through the air at the young man. The tip of his sword embedded itself in the horn and knocked it out of the young man's mouth. Immediately, the winds stopped and Ranma's ears rang with the silence. He urged his horse faster uphill, so that they were almost to the top before the young man saw them.  
  
He looked bewildered and then angry. On a closer look, Ranma could see that the young man was in fact hardly older than Ranma himself, his hair tied back in a short ponytail.  
  
"Stranger! Who are you to disturb a desert hermit and seek to harm him for no reason?" he demanded.  
  
"You moron!" Ranma stood and balanced on his horse's saddle, then went into a flying kick that hit the boy in the face. " YOU'RE the ones who attacked US!!!!"  
  
The boy fell and rolled over the horn, and when he sat up, the horn was in his hand, the saber lying loose on the ground.  
  
"Oh, I see," he said. " You're part of that caravan. Well, I'm very sorry, but you'll have to die."  
  
He placed the horn to his lips and blew before Ranma could reach him. A mighty gust of wind shot out of the horn, caught Ranma and raised him off the ground. Ranma found himself hovering some feet over the ground, flailing against the wind. He was lifted higher and higher, the wind spiraling around him. He realized that as soon as he reached a really dangerous level, the boy would simply stop playing and let Ranma drop.  
  
Suddenly the wind died and Ranma found himself falling, though the distance didn't worry him overmuch. He looked around for the boy and saw that Akane had climbed up the bluff as well, and was battling the boy, who no longer had enough breath to blow his horn.  
  
One of the bandits had followed Akane, and now crept up behind the fighting duo and attempted to skewer the short-haired girl, who now found herself fighting two opponents.  
  
Ranma landed with a thud in a cloud of dust, and raced towards the three, realizing with growing rage that the boy was fighting with HIS saber. Well, fighting without weapons was his specialty, after all.  
  
He slammed feet first into the back of the bandit, sending him rolling, his sword flying. He swung around and planted a solid elbow in the face of the boy, who went down with a groan.  
  
"Who asked you to come up here, you stupid girl?" He demanded of Akane, who was holding her sword and breathing heavily.  
  
Akane glared at him. "I saved your life, idiot!"  
  
Ranma choked. "MY life? You saved my life? I don't need some slip of a girl saving ME!!" The idea was ridiculous. Imagine a GIRL saving his….  
  
"Well, you were just floating around in the air like a djinni, doing nothing!" Akane yelled. "In fact, why don't you just grant MY wish and disappear?"  
  
"Well, I see you two are all right," came Ukyou's drawl as her head appeared over the top of the bluff. "Who's that kid?"  
  
"He was using a wind-horn to create a sandstorm," Ranma explained. He confiscated the horn in question and shoved it into his sash. "Did you take care of the other bandits?"  
  
"Once the wind wasn't confusing us anymore, it became a lot easier. Somehow, it was like they didn't know how to fight without the wind."  
  
"Owwww." A groan from the ground gained their attention, and they watched as the pony tailed boy sat up, rubbing his head. "Unkind people, how can you be so cruel to a young and innocent and charming boy like me?"  
  
"Innocent! Ha!" Akane pointed at him. "You and your bandits have been robbing caravans. You're thieves!"  
  
"One must eat," the boy offered, giving Akane a blinding smile and spreading his hands in a what-can-I-do gesture.  
  
Ranma smirked and stared at the young man with folded arms. "Yeah, and I suppose all those jewels and silks were just barely enough to keep you in gruel."  
  
The young man's smile turned sheepish. "What can I say, we like to eat well."  
  
Everyone stared at him blankly.  
  
Three hours later, the caravan guards had forced the tied-up bandits to lead them to their hiding place, which turned out to be small town not very far away. The village seemed to be inhabited mostly be women and children. In fact, most of the bandits had been women.  
  
"Hmm, looks like a problem, sugar," Ukyou said, looking around. "What do we do with them?"  
  
"Do with them?" Ranma thought it was obvious. "Burn the village to the ground to teach others a lesson, of course. What else is there to do?"  
  
His three companions stared at him with varying degrees of disbelief.  
  
"Are you familiar with the term-mercy-young prince?" Cologne asked quietly.  
  
"Mercy?" Ranma asked blankly.  
  
"I don't believe it's in his vocabulary, grandmother," Ukyou said, staring hard at Ranma.  
  
"Mercy is shown by the weak. We are the victors! Why are all of you staring at me like that?" Ranma didn't understand it. He'd been taught that mercy was only an unnecessary step between victory and betrayal. He understood that. Why show someone mercy when they would just turn on you later?  
  
"These are just women and children, Ranma!" Akane cried. "We can't kill them! It isn't right!"  
  
Ranma stared at her, and then turned on his heel and strode off. The three of them watched him go with troubled eyes.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Well, this is it, Nabiki thought to herself, staring up at the stars, breathing as shallowly as possible, not just so the stink of the sleeping roll wouldn't make her gag( she'd somehow gotten accustomed to it; either that or her nose had lost the fight and died) but because she wanted to look as though she were fast asleep.  
  
Their plan to escape would soon go into action. She went over the details again and again in her mind.  
  
The princesses and the queen had debated on when exactly they should try to escape. Kasumi would have preferred to wait, at least until they were in sight of civilization. But Nabiki and Nodoka overrode her, the former because she couldn't stand one more night in captivity, and the latter because she had a vague sense of danger approaching them. They argued that the soldiers would become more alert once they reached a town or city, and currently the soldiers were confident that the queen and her daughters were helpless out here in the desert.  
  
Now, Kasumi watched fearfully as Nodoka, leading a pale and hunched Nabiki approached the captain of the Aruns. Nabiki appeared reluctant to go nearer, and in fact, kept entreating her mother to move away.  
  
"Hush, child. I am sure the captain is a chivalrous and kind man, beloved of Khaitan, who will surely have pity on your plight."  
  
The captain watched them with curiosity until they stood before him. He looked at Nodoka questioningly.  
  
"Noble sir," Nodoka said. "I fear that we have come before you with a problem only you will be able to solve, as our weak womanly intellects are surely no match for it."  
  
The captain looked surprised and then pleased. He had overheard Nodoka call him a 'chivalrous and kind man'.  
  
"O noble queen," he said, "If there is any way in which I might ease your journey, you must only tell me and I will see that it is done."  
  
Nodoka lowered her eyes and Nabiki blushed. "It is somewhat of a delicate matter, O brave and gentle captain. Are you married? Have you any sisters?"  
  
The captain obviously did not understand what Nodoka might mean. "I have been blessed with brothers, noble queen. All know that sisters are only a burden on a man's pocket, a cause of unrest in the house. I am not married, either, as Lord Mousse has kept me busy."  
  
Nodoka's bent head hid a twitching eye, but she said calmly, "No doubt you are right, noble sir. However, it would ease our embarrassment if female company had prepared you for our request."  
  
"Speak, O gentle lady," the captain entreated. "Don't let my ignorance sway you from telling me your troubles. I will endeavor to help you as best I may from any knowledge of women I may have gleaned from my mother."  
  
Nodoka sighed, thinking how easily a man was swayed by soft sighs and womanly weakness. Only a few days ago, he and his company had ransacked their palace and their behaviour towards her and her daughters had not been exemplary.. "Thank you, captain. You see, my daughter is afflicted with the pains of womanhood." She looked up expectantly to see the captain grow pale.  
  
"The pains…of womanhood?" he said. "My lady, I know of such travail, since my mother did retire to her apartments on some days and would see no one. I know not how I may help you."  
  
That's what we're counting on, you fool! Nodoka thought triumphantly. She assumed a wide-eyed expression. "Oh, we would be most happy to tell you, my lord. In the desert, there grows a certain plant that is the only cure for this pain. It is yet only late afternoon. I wonder if we might trouble you to take my daughter in search of this plant."  
  
The captain frowned. "We cannot tarry here long, O queen. However, since I have given you my promise, I will indeed take your daughter upon my horse and carry her to find this plant. I suppose she will recognize it if she sees it?"  
  
"Of course, noble sir," said Nodoka, barely able to hide her glee. She turned to Nabiki. "Come, my daughter, mount up beside the captain. Soon, you will find the plant and it will ease your pain."  
  
"The plant induces the eater into a deep and painless sleep, O sir," she explained to the captain. "My daughter will be asleep before you return."  
  
The captain stared at Nabiki doubtfully, who appeared to be wracked with pain. Nabiki looked up and said shyly, "Thank you noble Captain. We can never show you our gratitude." For stealing us like chattel, she added silently.  
  
The captain, appeased, lifted her onto his horse, and then turned to his second-in-command, who had been listening closely.  
  
"Yusuf, see to it that the women are watched over. I will return soon with the princess and her cure." He swung into the saddle in front of Nabiki.  
  
"O kind captain!" Nodoka ran forward. "My husband used to warn us of the bandits lurking in this area. Please, beware of them!"  
  
The captain nodded uneasily and rode off with Nabiki. Nodoka gazed after them for a moment and then went to her bedroll to kneel and pray.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Nabiki pretended to hunch with pain and watched carefully as the Captain steered his horse along the sand dunes. It wasn't for nothing that she had learned to glean information quickly. There was still some light by which they could search for her 'cure' but that would soon fade. And that only fit in all the better with her own plans.  
  
From her cloak, Nabiki occasionally let drop pebbles tied with bright silky thread she and Kasumi had teased out of their caftans.  
  
They had ridden for almost half an hour when Nabiki said, "Captain! I believe I saw the plant just now! Please, for Khaitan's sake, stop and let me see."  
  
The captain drew back the reins on his horse and allowed Nabiki to dismount. She drew close to examine a small plant, then looked up with disappointment. "This is not the one, Captain. We must ride a little further."  
  
The captain cursed mildly, but he took Nabiki up on the horse again.  
  
Perhaps another half an hour had passed when Nabiki decided it was time to act. The captain was studying a peculiar formation in the distance, trying to see what it was, when Nabiki, pressed up close against him, quickly slid his dagger out of his sheath and plunged it into his side.  
  
The captain gasped and swayed in the saddle. He let go of the reins and glared down at Nabiki in shock. She drew back and kicked him out of the saddle, while reaching for the reins of the horse.  
  
The mare, excited and scared by the scent of blood, stopped and half- reared, then set off in a gallop. Nabiki hung on tightly, fear burning through her as she found herself, for the first time in her life, alone on a horse.  
  
Glancing behind her, she saw the dark shape of the fallen captain recede behind them. She felt a moment's sorrow. She had never killed before. But this was a matter of life or death.  
  
Looking forward, still clinging to the mare's neck, Nabiki saw the odd formation growing closer. She realized it was actually two high boulders sitting close together at the base of a shallow sandy outlet.  
  
The princess drew a deep breath and began to pull on the reins. She pulled too hard and the horse fought her. She tried again, more gently, and the mare slowed and finally stopped, her flanks heaving with light sweat.  
  
Nabiki fell more than dismounted from the mare's back, and stood for a few moments, shaking.  
  
If only I could take this horse and run, she thought to herself. But Mother and Kasumi are back there.  
  
Drawing deep, calming breaths, she stared at the odd rock formation. A path led down to the two boulders, which were more than twenty feet high. The boulders divided the one path into three so that each disappeared into darkness, no doubt joining again at the other side. Smaller boulders littered the area around the path, providing ample hiding places. An idea began to form in her head. She decided to modify the original plan slightly and approaching the boulders, did her best to augment her plan.  
  
She turned and led the mare back to where the captain lay. He was quite dead. She began to strip him thoroughly and then she undressed herself as well.  
  
She wiped the dagger clean on her shift, and then pulled her long hair together in one hand. With the other hand, she positioned the knife near her neck and cut swiftly and stoically through the hair.  
  
She pulled on the dead captain's headgear and caftan, bunching up clothing around her shoulders and torso so that she would look bigger. Then she looked down at the naked captain.  
  
"This is the really hard part!" she said softly. She began to yank her clothes onto him, finally pulling her scarf to cover his head. She tied the hair into a tail, loose at one end, and fastened it to the captain's head, allowing it to fall free and loose from the scarf, but hiding his face.  
  
"Hello, Nabiki," she said.  
  
Now how was she going to lift him onto the horse? She dragged the corpse to a clump of small boulders and began to heave the body up them. He was surprisingly heavy, and she was sweating freely by the time she'd managed to precariously place him where she needed. She coaxed the horse forward and pushed the corpse onto the horse, scaring the mare. The mare ran off.  
  
"Damn!" Nabiki cursed wearily. She stumbled after the horse, calling for it to stop. Miraculously, it did.  
  
She led it back to the boulders and, using one as a foothold, clambered onto the saddle, allowing a sigh of relief to pass her lips. By this time, any sympathy she might have had for the dead captain had long since vanished.  
  
There. The corpse was placed in front her and she grabbed the reins, kicking the horse lightly in the ribs. Luckily, the mare seemed as eager to leave the place as she did, and they set off in reasonable harmony.  
  
Nearly an hour later, Nabiki galloped back into camp, yelling loudly, startling the soldiers.  
  
"Bandits! Bandits! There are bandits not far from here!" she cried in a deep voice, imitiating the Captain as closely as possible. Fear and sand from the ride had hoarsened her voice slightly, and the thick cotton of the head cloth did even more to mask her voice. "Yusuf! Get the men together! We ride now!"  
  
Nodoka had run up, in the meantime. Nabiki thrust the captain's dead and disguised body at her. "Here is your daughter, O queen. She has indeed fallen asleep. I thank you for your warnings of the bandits!" Using one of the names she'd picked up over the last few days, she yelled, "Iram! Stay and guard the women! As for us, men, we ride!"  
  
Turning she galloped off into the darkness. This was the crucial moment. Then she relaxed as yells and shouts came from behind her, screaming for the blood of bandits.  
  
The Arun men rode behind her, Yusuf at their lead.  
  
Nabiki, by now having mostly understood how her horse responded, strove at all times to stay ahead of the men, lest they discover her trick.  
  
Finally they reached the area with the two boulders. Nabiki stopped and made certain that her head cloth covered her face. She turned her horse around.  
  
"Men," she growled, "I realize now that I've heard tales of these bandits. They have a dervish that serves them. The dervish disguises the bandits so that any approaching army believes they are killing their own comrades. Don't be fooled by this! It may LOOK like your comrades, but the bandits will gallop toward you with evil intent, as your own brothers would never do!"  
  
The men cried out in awe and fear. Yusuf asked in a suspicious voice, "Is this true, O captain?"  
  
Nabiki nodded. "Indeed, Yusuf! For was it not your own face I saw here when I know that you are true and loyal to me?"  
  
Yusuf paled and the men shouted in agreement.  
  
"Now onward!" Nabiki shouted.  
  
By now, it was completely dark, and as the men galloped forward, their horses were inevitably separated into the two side paths, for Nabiki had blocked the middle path with stones and brush. The company poured into two streams around either side of the boulders and met in the middle, each crying out as the other moved toward them.  
  
Nabiki, having crawled through the third path herself, cried out, "Comrades! Comrades! The dervish tries to trick us! Look, even now the bandits, disguised as your companions, are attacking us!"  
  
Each section, thinking their leader was addressing them, rushed forward into battle.  
  
Nabiki, amazed that the trick had really worked ,crawled back out and led her horse and another whose rider she had managed to dislodge, away from the sounds of fighting, sending them galloping back towards the camp.  
  
She glanced back briefly and whispered, "Hack each other to pieces, you monsters! Thus you face the revenge of a Saotome!"  
  
When she finally reached the place, exhausted, she saw that Nodoka and Kasumi had made short work of Iram the guard, who sat with his feet and hands tied, a murderous expression on his face.  
  
"Oh Nabiki, you are truly wise in the ways of men!" Nodoka cried, embracing her daughter when Nabiki had related all that had passed.  
  
Nabiki grinned slyly. "Indeed, mother, I am just now finding this out for myself."  
  
"Oh, Nabiki, your hair!" cried Kasumi, tears coming to her eyes. Nabiki felt the back of her neck and the chopped strands of her hair. She felt sad and oddly unburdened at the same time.  
  
"Never mind, Kasumi," she comforted her older sister. "It will grow back."  
  
Everything was packed, and Nabiki and Nodoka mounted horses, using the third as a packhorse. Nodoka had learned to ride a horse in her youth but Kasumi never had and refused to try right then, so she rode with Nabiki.  
  
"Freedom." Nabiki smiled at her sister. "Until now, I never knew what the poets were talking about."  
  
Kasumi smiled back.  
  
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Notes: Yay! Chapter 10 is finished! Up next, everyone FINALLY gets to Dara, the Black Diamond of the Desert! Click the button and please review. 


	11. Getting Close

That evening, the caravan reached the edge of the Taiba cliffs. At their feet, the land plunged down thousands of feet in a sheer rock face into misty darkness. The next leg of their journey was over God's Eyebrow, a steep and narrow stone bridge that spanned the canyon to where the land climbed again. The bridge had no railing. It was simply a long, slender arch of stone. It simply could not be undertaken at night. That's why everyone was looking forward to a rare night of rest.  
  
Akane, after caring for her horse, had helped to untie the camels from the caravan and rope them to pickets. The last camel she led away, a phlegmy-yellow beast with evil eyes, stuck its long hairy muzzle in her face, its long, brown, blunt teeth showing in a wide yawn.  
  
"Ugh!" Akane waved a hand in front of her face. "Camel breath!"  
  
She left the camel chewing grain contentedly and went to help pitch the tents. However, the drivers had it well in hand. Looking around, she decided to stretch her legs. It had been a long while since she had ridden a horse for longer than a day, and never before for days at a time.  
  
I really do miss that palanquin, she thought to herself.  
  
She meandered to the edge of the cliff, which boasted a few stubby bushes and trees that clung tenaciously to the rocky soil. She stopped and held her breath. Beyond Taiba, the mountains approached with startling suddenness. The setting sun was a fiery crimson ball, like the malevolent red eye of some great being. Saffron light bathed an ancient flood of lava that poured down the mountain range. The hardened river ran towards Taiba and disappeared into the canyon.  
  
To her left, Akane could see God's Eyebrow, the thin, slender arch of the stone bridge they would cross tomorrow. When they got to the far side, they would have to descend to the valley floor. By then, they would be less than a week away from Dara.  
  
As Akane walked even further left, she saw that even more northward, beyond the edge of the mountain range, a great flat table of limestone swept towards her to meet the dark, volcanic ridges.  
  
The sunset bathed the folds dark purple, creating shadows and crevices and revealing craters. Sand collected in little inlets, creating a leopard-spotted land that stretched to a misty horizon ahead.  
  
"Wow," came a voice behind Akane. She turned to see Ranma standing behind her, his gaze sweeping the panoramic view. "This is something else."  
  
Akane didn't know what to say. She didn't even know what to make of Ranma. Sometimes, he seemed like no other young man of her acquaintance, though admittedly those weren't too many in number. He was nothing like Ryouga, for instance. Ryouga was always polite to her. Well, they'd grown up together. She should make allowance for that. She had always imagined that when she and Ranma met, as two people destined for one other and promised to each other, that they would look into each other's eyes and form an instant connection.  
  
Akane blew out a breath. This was nothing like she had imagined. Every word and action of Ranma's simply emphasized a fundamental difference in their attitudes. She hadn't even taken his curse into account yet.  
  
"What are you thinking, Akane?" Ranma was eyeing her curiously. He'd apparently gotten tired of waiting for her to say something while she stood there pondering the mysteries of Ranma.  
  
"I was just thinking that it's a lovely evening," Akane replied. She smiled to herself. There might be hope yet if Ranma could appreciate a sunset.  
  
"Oh." Ranma shifted from one foot to the other, his thumbs hooked in his sash. He watched Akane's eyes, trying to read her expression in the dying orange light. What was she really thinking? Why did he care?  
  
He remembered when he'd lifted her out of that palanquin outside the palace, how something had leapt between them for an instant. He hadn't been able to take his eyes off her.  
  
"Ranma…"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Are we engaged?" Akane looked away, fiddling with the ends of her own sash.  
  
"What?" Ranma turned to face her fully. "What makes you ask that?"  
  
She regarded the fronds of her sash with deep interest. "It's just that…the ceremony was interrupted. I know we've been engaged all our lives, in a manner of speaking, but…"  
  
Ranma considered. Like Akane, he had been brought up from birth to believe that Akane would be his someday. He found it surprisingly hard to let go of the idea. In fact, he found it impossible. Akane had always belonged to him. Deep inside him, he had never questioned that fact. As he grew up however, the rational part of him had begun to realize that refusing the engagement was the one way he could thwart Genma. And the curse had seemed the perfect excuse.  
  
That didn't mean that Akane wasn't his. He simply had not fused the two ideas into a single, workable solution. As a result, Ranma simply didn't know what to tell her.  
  
Akane took his silence for a negative reply.  
  
"I see," she said stiffly. "Well then." She started to march off to the camp, but had to stop when Ranma barred her progress with his arm. He was watching her intensely.  
  
"Akane…"  
  
She just waited, her arms crossed, a slim eyebrow arched enquiringly.  
  
Ranma looked like he was thinking furiously. Akane wanted to clock him. The fingers of her left hand fisted as her anger grew.  
  
"Well, like you said, the engagement ceremony was cut short. We'll have to wait to find out until we get back to Jiya." Ranma smirked, happy with the sly way he'd eluded her question. Because there was no way in hell he was returning to Jiya.  
  
When I decide if I wanna keep her, I'll let her know, he thought smugly. His foot erupted in pain.  
  
"Owwwwwwwwwww! Watch where you're walking, you clumsy footed…!" He started, then watched as her fist kissed his chin in slow motion. He felt himself floating, no, he was flying…Then stars swam into his vision, the world spun crazily and all turned black.  
  
Akane stared at Ranma in disgust. "Son of a flea-bitten camel," she said, and stalked off.  
  
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Ukyou, seated cross-legged at one of the campfires, watched Akane march into camp and disappear into one of the tents. She'd seen Ranma slip out to the cliff edge earlier and had mentally congratulated him on trying to get a moment alone with Akane. But the boy had blown it. She shook her head in sympathy with Akane.  
  
Ranma. Hm. She'd been so occupied by everything that had happened so far that she really hadn't spent much time considering her traveling companions. As far as she could tell, from the few conversations they'd had, Ranma really hated his foster-father. That was good. She hated Genma, too. She couldn't do much about that now. Right now she had to concentrate on finding Tarou. One enemy at a time, her father used to say.  
  
Once she got to Dara, she'd find Tarou, that jackal, and put an end to his useless existence. She'd avenge her honor. That's when she would offer her help to Ranma so that they could finish Genma together. Things were looking up.  
  
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Caught in quicksand a few days away from Dara, struggling to pull his horse out of the muck, Tarou began to sneeze.  
  
"Damn! Achoo! I'm just sinking….achoo!....deeper!..achoo! Who's thinking of me….achoo!.... so intensely?!" he yelled.  
  
  
  
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The next morning, the guards and drivers assembled the caravan carefully. The stone bridge they were about the cross was close to five feet wide at its narrowest points. Without railings, battling high winds, the trip would be precarious even in daylight.  
  
Cassim carefully urged his mule onto the stone lip of the bridge. The placid creature, having made this journey before, did not hesitate but began to walk confidently up the slight incline, its hooves clopping on the stone. The camels followed, their drivers leading them carefully by foot. Guards were interspersed in between, also leading their horses.  
  
Akane, leading her own horse, glanced down only once through the whole thing, then clamped her lower lip hard, her face white with tension.  
  
Ranma whistled as he walked, Cologne perched cheerily on his horse. He hoped he was irritating Akane. Subconsciously, he knew he could have easily avoided her fist the day before, yet somehow he couldn't bring himself to do so. He'd just have to find another way to get back at her. He whistled louder.  
  
Ukyou simply shook her head at such antics and tried to remember what she knew about Dara. It wasn't much. It was a legend of the desert. Long ago, the city had been much like any other desert city, made of stucco and limestone, ruled by a line of kings who weren't too bad, so far as kings went.  
  
Then one day, the whole city had somehow turned to black marble. The citizens of the city never spoke of it; at least, Ukyou had never heard an explanation for it.  
  
The sun had risen a notch higher in the sky when the entire caravan reached the other side of the bridge. Sighs of relief and thanks to God were heard. Now, they need only travel on down towards the valley, and in a few days they would be past the mountains.  
  
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Nabiki expected to be hailed any second. Her back was stiff with tension as she, Nodoka and Kasumi wended their way through the throngs in the broad market street of Dara. By now, Kasumi had learned to ride her horse, and the three of them did not look out of place as their mounts made their way through the crowds of people.  
  
The three of them gawked silently at the sheer black walls of minarets and mosques that soared high above them. Every longstanding building was made of black marble and gave off the appearance of immense age. Only the small stalls set up by vendors were made of wood and showed brown in comparison..  
  
Nabiki couldn't shake the feeling that here, in a city, someone would recognize her, pull her down from her horse and then she would be packed off to Jiya again. She knew her mother and Kasumi were feeling the same way.  
  
She wanted to get down and lead the horses, but this was the easiest way to find an inn to stay at. She could search for signs. Besides, the three of them were dressed as men, in long tunics and trousers, head cloths covering the majority of their faces. No one had thrown them a second look, as far as she could tell.  
  
"This place is very strange, Nabiki," said Kasumi, her horse coming up beside Nabiki's. "There's an odd air about it. Can't we simply leave?"  
  
"We must stop and find a way to get some provisions, Kasumi dear," Nodoka said. Her gentle voice sounded odd coming from the concealing head cloth of a man." I know this city is said to be enchanted, but it is the only city we know so far north."  
  
Though they did not know it, Tarou passed within a few feet of them, going in the opposite direction. He had arrived there the day before and had found himself lodgings, though the odd color of the city made his skin crawl, as it always had. He was in search of Happousai. He also expected the guards holding the Jiyan queen and her daughters to appear in Dara within a couple of days.  
  
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The caravan was now only a day or two away from Dara. They had made fair progress down the side of the cliff and into the valley, crossing the frozen lava river. Now they had stopped at a tiny oasis, hardly bigger than a watering hole for the animals.  
  
Akane was still ignoring Ranma determinedly, while the prince seemed bent on teasing her with boyish shenanigans. He'd dropped a sand lizard down her tunic once and watched in amusement as she screamed and clawed at her breasts, trying to remove the agile little creature. He still carried the bruises of Akane's gratitude.  
  
Ukyou watched the couple, frowning at Ranma's antics. He was behaving like a five year old boy with a crush. She studied Ranma especially, trying to gauge his character and how she could use him in her revenge. What caused her some disquiet was that she sometimes found Ranma studying her the same way.  
  
The animals drank at the watering hole and the humans filled their water skins. There should have been a light-hearted spirit in the air, as they were reaching the end of their journey, but Cassim and the drivers only looked more and more worried.  
  
"Tell me about the ruler of Dara, Cassim," Ukyou had asked the caravan leader once. The short man, usually friendly, had turned pale and stammered that he didn't know much about the city. Ukyou had left it at that.  
  
Two days later, when dawn was approaching softly from the east, turning the flat clouds overhead a rosy hue, the caravan topped a rise and the companions saw Dara for the first time. The diffused rays of an awakening sun moved across the sand dunes that clustered here as far as the eye could see. Dara sat perched below them like a black, glittering crown discarded by some long ago being.  
  
We haven't found anybody so far. They must be here, Akane thought.  
  
Granddaughter, I'll find you now, Cologne thought.  
  
Tarou, I'm going to gut you like a fish, Ukyou vowed.  
  
Boy, they look scary, Ranma thought, staring at the grim faces of his companions.  
  
As the day wore on, they crossed the dunes, tired and dusty. Before midmorning, they were at the gates of Dara.  
  
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Notes: Next chapter, the debut of Shampoo! Kinda late in the story, I know, but hey, better than never, right? ^_^  
  
Click and review! 


	12. Enter Shampoo

Tarou hung about the gates of Dara, waiting for his group of soldiers to ride in with the prisoners, Queen Nodoka and her daughters. 

Another contingent of his father's troops had joined him, and they lounged about the gates now, talking to the gate guards. One gate-guard desultorily questioned those seeking entrance into the city.  
  
The prince watched as travelers, families, merchants and caravans were allowed through the gates. One such fat, little merchant had gained entrance and was waiting near the gates, chatting with one of his own men, watching as his camels filed through. The caravan guards rode up and down the line, making sure it all went smoothly.  
  
One caravan guard made Tarou pause. Something about him seemed familiar. The guard was riding up the line, gaining speed as he rode, drawing closer to the Arun prince. The guard's head cloth fell away and with complete surprise, Tarou recognized the furious face.  
  
"Die, Tarou!" Ukyou screamed, her spatula whirling as her horse thundered toward him.  
  
By God, she's magnificent, Tarou had a moment to think before he truly realized his danger. He dropped and rolled across the ground, the flat blade of the spatula missing him by mere inches.  
  
"Ukyou!" Another of the guards left the caravan and galloped towards them, followed by a third guard. By this time, Tarou's guards had reacted to the threat and were attacking Ukyou with their sabres.  
  
"Don't kill her! I want her alive! All of them alive!" The prince shouted. He could guess who her helpers were.  
  
Akane felt panic bloom in her chest as her horse reached Ukyou's side. The guards outnumbered their trio by five to one, by her count. They couldn't hope to defeat all these soldiers, and Akane had never tried combat on horseback.  
  
"Ukyou! We can't fight all these men¦.We have to run!" She hissed, parrying a guard's sabre with her long dagger. She couldn't brace herself properly in the saddle and the clash of steel against steel rang through her arm.  
  
The Cantonian princess had a wild look in her eye. Her face was flushed with rage and determination, her lip was bleeding, and she swung her spatula like berserkers must have in the tales Akane had heard as a young child. She was trying to fight her way through to the prince who stood dusting himself off a short distance away.  
  
"Akane! What's going on here? Why did that dumb fool think she could take on Tarou AND his guards?" Ranma had joined them and he, too, was doing his best to keep the guards at bay.  
  
"I think she went berserk," Akane panted, struggling to juggle the reins and the dagger and feeling very sorry for her horse. It didn't understand the signals she was sending it and was fighting the bit in its mouth.  
  
"There's no way she can reach him. We're completely outnumbered," her fiance said, his cold eyes fixed on the next attacker. Akane couldn't argue. He was merely echoing her own thoughts. Damn!  
  
"Behind you. Reinforcements." Akane went cold on hearing that and she turned in her saddle. 

Ranma scowled. "We have to get out of here. Come on. He wheeled his horse and somehow forced his way to Ukyou' s side. She uttered a squeak as he scooped her off her horse, surprising her as well as the guards. He slashed at the guards ferociously and then slipped past them before they had realized it.  
  
"Come on, Akane!" He obviously had a tight hold on Ukyou, who was squirming in his grip. He urged his horse away from the approaching guards and made it leap a cart in his path. Akane had no choice but to follow and hope her horse could jump as well. She closed her eyes and uttered a breathless prayer as the horse gathered itself and leapt. They landed with bone-jarring suddenness and Akane did her best to guide the horse after Ranma's mount, which was fast disappearing down the street.  
  
She could hear pursuit behind them, and she pressed close to the horse's hot neck and urged it on, thankful that her short locks didn't whip about wildly from the wind. The streets here were quite wide and not very busy, and they followed twisting, turning streets into the heart of the city. Eventually, they had to slow down. The crowds and stalls were growing thicker and the horses had to make their way through them carefully. She risked a glance behind and saw the guards grimly following.  
  
She had caught up with Ranma and Ukyou, the latter sulking. Ranma threw the pony-tailed princess a disgusted look.  
  
"I wish I had time to thrash you, but I don't," he said. "We'll have to leave the horses. The crowds are getting too heavy."  
  
They looked behind and saw that the guards were dismounting as well.  
  
"Hurry!" Ranma yelled, and practically tossed Ukyou off his horse. He jumped down to join her and Akane dismounted, too. "We'll have to ditch the horses. Let's go!"  
  
The trio made their way through the crowds, weaving through dirty street children, women, vendors and stalls. The guards were gaining. The crowds were getting heavier and heavier.  
  
A knot of women moved out the way and suddenly the trio was confronted by a group of guards, their blades out and gleaming silver.  
  
"Damn it!" Ranma swore, as he and Akane pulled out their blades and began to defend themselves. Ukyou stood still.  
  
Then she whipped out her spatula.  
  
"Ranma! Akane! Run!" she cried. "Go! I'll take care of this scum."  
  
"We're not leaving you, Ukyou!" Akane yelled, wishing her blade was longer as the dagger clanged against a sword, then slid down the blade until it locked with the hilt.  
  
"I'll be fine! You two need to do what you came here for!" Ukyou swung her spatula in a massive arc, sending soldiers sprawling.  
  
"Shut the hell up, Ukyou!" Ranma couldn't believe the stupid girl. No way was he going to leave her in the hands of these men. After all, he told himself, he could still use her.  
  
"Tarou wants me alive, you idiot!" Ukyou cried. "And that's exactly where I want to be, too! Now, go!" With those words, she flung herself into the group of guards, who, caught by surprise, tried to avoid stabbing her.  
  
"More guards!" Akane pointed. Up the street, even more guards were approaching them. It was a classic two-pronged approach. Ranma cursed out loud in frustration. Ukyou was being held fast now, and she was too far to reach before the group of soldiers approaching from up the street got to them.  
  
"In here!" Ranma grabbed Akane and pulled her into a dark, grimy alley. They began to run, jumping over trash bins and broken wagon wheels.  
  
Out of the gloom, a tall peeling wooden fence suddenly loomed in front of them. It was thick and a good ten feet high.  
  
"Jump!" Ranma cried. Weaving his fingers in a cradle, he mimed a throwing action. Akane understood. She placed her foot into his cupped hands and his strong arms heaved her over the fence.  
  
Suddenly she heard the clash of steel on Ranma's side of the fence.  
  
"Oh, no!" Akane dragged a large wooden box upto the fence. Climbing it, she peered over the top to see Ranma fighting three guards. A fourth was closing in from behind.  
  
"No you don't!" she yelled, and flung her dagger like a throwing knife at him. It pierced his shoulder and he went down with a scream. Ranma gave the third guard a last kick, grabbed Akane's dagger and pulled it out, and leapt over the fence.  
  
"Are you all right?" Akane asked, her anxious gaze checking him for wounds. Ranma flashed her a quick, cynical smile.  
  
"Thanks to you. I hope you don't regret it later, Akane," he said, a glint in his clear grey eyes.  
  
There was shouting behind them. After exchanging a look, the pair took off again down the alley. It intersected another alley and they followed it up, until it finally ended at a very high stone wall. The two of them stared at it.  
  
"I can't jump that," Akane panted. "All this sheer black marble makes it impossible."   
  
Before she knew it, Ranma had scooped her up in his arms. She felt him tense and then he sprang up, up, onto the wall, balancing there lightly, and then sprang down into the interior. They glanced around cautiously.  
  
A bouquet of scents assaulted their noses. Akane recognized the perfume of flowers and oranges. They stood in a large, perfumed garden of intoxicating beauty. Orange trees stood in tidy rows, and thousands of flowers bloomed in flowerbeds, on bushes and spilled riotously from baskets and low circular stone fences that encircled a large gushing fountain with statues in the middle. Birdsong filled the air, and they caught flashes of color at the edges of their vision.  
  
However, this was not the most remarkable thing. What made the duo stare was the almost-naked girl.  
  
She stood a few feet away from them. Her hair flowed in long inky curls past her hips, and her large, kohled eyes surveyed them with some degree of astonishment. Fat gold bracelets encircled her wrists and gold jeweled armbands encircled her upper arms. Jeweled anklets closed around her ankles.  
  
She wore only a dark purple bodice, so tiny that her generous bosom all but spilled out, and transparent harem pants that revealed every delicious inch and curve of her limbs in loving detail.  
  
Akane could feel the heat of Ranma's blush. She herself could feel her eyes bulging.  
  
"Aiyah! Shampoo have visitors!" The girl exclaimed. "Is death to be seen in garden of king's courtesans. You such brave men!

   
Ranma groaned. "The king's courtesans? How in the entire world did we end up here?"It was tradition that a king kept courtesans. It was fact that any male who was not a eunuch or the king and was caught in the company of a courtesan was instantly executed.  
  
Akane suddenly realized she was still in Ranma's arms. She tapped his chest and he let her down to stand on her own feet.  
  
Shampoo had been walking toward them, though Akane privately decided the courtesan wiggled way too much. Her hips swung with every step, creating a pleasing sway to her walk. She sauntered over to Ranma and slid a perfectly manicured, pampered finger down the line of his chest.  
  
"You come to see Shampoo?" she asked coyly, flirtatiously peeking up at him through her long, thick lashes.  
  
Someone could trip over those, Akane thought uncharitably.  
  
Shampoo placed her hand high on Ranma's arm and squeezed lightly. Ranma watched as her eyes widened in appreciation. She tugged at him lightly.  
  
"We go in, I serve you delicacies…whatever you want." Her admiring gaze left no doubt on the nature of the 'delicacies'.  
  
"Um, Lady Shampoo..." Ranma began, and then paused as they all heard the sound of booted feet running toward them.  
  
"Quickly, you must hide!" Shampoo ushered them both in through the wide windows into the black-marbled mansion behind her. They followed Shampoo as she led them through richly carpeted and furnished rooms to a sitting area. Bright cushions the color of jewels spilled in abundance on the marble floor. What really drew their attention was a marble bath, the size of a large pond, set in the middle of the room. Silver and gold taps gleamed, and steam rose from the water.  
  
Women in various stages of undress lounged around on the cushions, on divans and even in the pool. Akane wanted to cover Ranma's eyes. The women tittered and began to question Shampoo.  
  
"More visitors, Shampoo?"  
  
"Who are they?"  
  
"Have they come to steal a glimpse of us?"  
  
"Shampoo no have time for silly questions, sisters!" The purple- haired courtesan glared at the women. "Guards coming to look for these men. Must hide them."  
  
The women looked delighted.  
  
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Ukyou clenched her teeth. Seated in front of a guard on his trotting horse, she slowed her breathing to reduce her panic. She flexed her bound wrists and hoped she wouldn't fall off the horse. The gait jarred her and made her seat precarious, not that the guard or any of his fellow guards would care.  
  
Remember, this is what you wanted, she told herself. Soon, you'll be face to face with that barbarian again, and that's what you came to Dara for.  
  
She hadn't thought she'd be facing him bound, though. Not again. Memories of her wedding night crashed through her. Long, knowing fingers clamped over her breast, hands with bracered wrists holding her down, and in her mind's eye, Ukyou saw mocking green eyes and a sardonic smile. She shivered. It didn't matter. She'd come a long way since that night. She was no longer a helpless maiden. Somehow, she was going to find a way to thank Tarou for that.  
  
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Ranma and Akane considered each other. Ranma, now in girl form, wore a red bustier set with tiny red zircons, and filmy red harem pants. Her feet had been inserted into golden shoes with the toes upturned. Akane wore similar outfits. Ranma couldn't help giving Akane's outfit occasional glances. She had never imagined the short-haired girl could look so sultry.  
  
Akane was blushing furiously. Her legs were completely exposed. The transparent cloth revealed a lot more than it hid.  
  
A tall, black-skinned man in silk pants and a vest strode into the hall. He stood eyeing the bevy of beauteous women who regarded him through limpid eyes, their faces modestly covered by veils. It was Aziz, the man in charge of the harem.  
  
"Ladies," he said, "the king's guards believe there are intruders within these walls." He held up a large hand at the cries of outrage that emitted from the women. "I have informed the guards that I shall check for them myself. No men are allowed here."  
  
He paused. "Now, each of you will come up to me, and I will check to see if you are indeed a woman." He was well acquainted with the practice of dressing up men in women's clothes. Sometimes, men even shaved, and unless he checked properly, it would be hard to tell who was truly a woman. He had already sent attendants to the women's rooms to check for intruders.  
  
Slowly, the women formed a line. As each stopped before him, Aziz reached out and softly squeezed the breasts of each woman with his hands. Satisfied with the result, he would wave her on, and the next would stand before him.  
  
"I don't know if I can stand some guy pawing at me," Ranma whispered.  
  
"Is okay. You have magic that make you women, yes?" Shampoo whispered. Finding out that Ranma could 'fake' being a woman had surprised her. "Aziz is eunuch. He no can do anything to you, even if he want."  
  
"Oh." Ranma frowned. Hm. That made sense, she supposed. Imagine it's a girl, she told herself. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of Aziz, who apparently had no problem with the women leaving their veils on even as he was touching them intimately. She clenched her teeth. Aziz's hands were harmless. She remembered to breathe when he released her. She moved on to join Shampoo. Akane, next in line, stiffened, but was quickly waved on.  
  
Aziz, satisfied with the women, left to tell the guards they had been mistaken.  
  
Shampoo quickly grabbed the opportunity.  
  
"Now you all turn men again, and we will.entertain you," she said to the trio.  
  
"I'm not a boy!" Akane felt her face turning red. Shampoo looked surprised. "Really? But you have very short hair. And so manly. Shampoo thought you was boy for sure!"   
  


Ranma grabbed Akane's rising fist.  
  
"Lady Shampoo." His expression was polite. "You have our thanks for hiding us, but we really have urgent business in Dara."  
  
"That's right." Akane wanted to get out of the filmy harem clothes as soon as possible.  
  
Shampoo crossed her arms. "What so urgent you no have time to spend with beautiful women?"  
  
"We have to see the king," Ranma said rather shortly. Now that they were actually in the city, she suddenly wanted to confront the king as soon as possible. She felt a moment's regret. They had left Cologne behind in their haste, without any chance to say farewell. She could only hope that the old woman would find her grand-daughter.  
  
"King Kunou?" Shampoo's eyes lit up. "Why, he is coming here tonight! To his harem."   
  
Ranma and Akane stared at her speechlessly.  
  
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Notes: Wow, I can see the end approaching. A couple or three more chapters, and I'm done!!  
  
NEXT time: Will Tarou have his wicked way with Ukyou yet again? Is Ranma REALLY impervious to Shampoo? Where is Nodoka? And everybody else, come to think of it? Click the button and please review! :)


	13. Ukyou in Bondage R for noncon sex

Well, hello! I recently restarted Hearts or Diamonds, and promised a chapter every weekend. Well, although this is for Tokens, it's STILL a new chapter!!! Lol.... Anyways, please review, give constructive criticism, I'd be sooo happy...... DISCLAIMER: I own none of the Ranma characters. I only borrowed them for a time. ****************************************************************  
  
Ukyou sat hip deep in a hot bath in the women's apartments, her hands bound tightly behind her as a slender, dark-haired, blue-eyed serving woman scrubbed her fiercely with sweet-smelling soap. The girl had introduced herself as Sikri, trying to make conversation but Ukyou wasn't really interested. Her entire concentration was focused on the upcoming appointment with her captor, Tarou.  
  
Five eunuchs with gold torques encircling their thick necks and gold bands encircling their massive folded arms stood in a circle around the tub, showing not an iota of masculine interest as the serving woman hauled Ukyou dripping out of the tub. They watched her carefully only to make sure she didn't escape.  
  
"I don't have time for this!" Ukyou protested for the umpteenth time. "I'm a iprisoneri. What does that mean to you people? Just take me to Tarou!"  
  
The eunuchs stared at her with gimlet eyes, nary a twitch of their faces showing their thoughts. Sikri the serving woman simply smiled nervously at Ukyou (having such a well guarded lady in her care was making her worry).  
  
"You'll be taken to Lord Tarou directly," she said, and Ukyou had to content herself with that. She sighed and looked around her blankly, not focusing on the richly appointed interior of the apartments, but seeing in her mind's eye a fight on a dusty road. Had Akane and Ranma got away safely? She had seen them disappearing before some enthusiastic guardsman had clubbed her with the hilt of his sword.  
  
Ukyou shrugged mentally. They were on their own, and so was she. She came back to earth to see Sikri holding up a scrap of green. It looked like a bunch of translucent scarves. The serving woman motioned to her.  
  
"You want me to wear ithati?" Ukyou demanded. "Where's the rest of the outfit?"  
  
"This is the chauri, the garment we wear," the serving woman said, walking towards Ukyou with a measuring eye. "It will be beautiful on you, my lady. You are very well proportioned, perhaps slightly slender, yet you will be highly pleasing to Lord Tarou when he sees..."  
  
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?" Ukyou shrieked, aghast. "Do you honestly.....?" Before she could protest properly, two of the eunuchs strode forward and grabbed her under her bound arms, lifting her off the ground. Two more came forward to hold her legs.  
  
Sikri came forward holding out the chauri with a determined expression on her pretty face. "Really, my lady, you'll like it......."  
  
Five minutes later, Ukyou stared into a mirror that the woman held out to her. The outfit still looked like a collection of scarves, gauzy, translucent as hell, in reality covering everything important but looking like it didn't. Ukyou was so furious she couldn't breathe. The dress skimmed her figure prettily, and tied in a knot at one shoulder, leaving one creamy shoulder bare. It made her look ultra feminine, delicate, fragile, weak. Worse, wearing the thing made her FEEL weak. She could feel the softness of the material, the cool air whispering up her bare legs under the filmy length. The hem skimmed her ankles, restricting her movement.  
  
As Ukyou stared unbelieving into the mirror, another serving girl approached and began to comb out the tangle in her hair.  
  
"You have such lovely hair, my lady," the girl breathed, her comb gently working through Ukyou's shining brown locks.  
  
Ukyou frowned as she remembered the day of her wedding, the last time maids had ever fussed over her like this, dressing her, powdering her, applying sweet scents, brushing her hair and setting jewels into it. She shut her eyes when she remembered the jewels falling from her hair as Tarou curled her locks around his arm and bared her throat to his pleasure. Her eyes felt hot. Without her spatula, she was weaponless. But in this outfit, this getup, she felt......defenseless.  
  
She wondered if Tarou knew that he had been Genma's pawn. It was very convenient indeed that her brother and her fiancé had found Tarou and his sister in the desert, capturing them and forcing Tarou to seek revenge by killing Tsubasa, who had married Ukyou by then, and by raping Ukyou, his virgin bride, on her wedding bed. It had been very easy for Genma to claim Tsubasa's father's land, now that the heir was dead.  
  
The serving women stepped back, smiling at the great change they had wrought in the dusty wretch the guards had dragged in earlier. The eunuchs didn't release Ukyou. They set her on a nearby bed and pried her legs apart. Outraged, Ukyou tried to fight. What was going on? Were they assaulting her already?  
  
Sikri appeared with a small wooden box. She opened it and took out two small silver colored balls, which she deftly inserted into Ukyou, who stared round-eyed, shocked at the invasion.  
  
"Something to help you," the girl winked at Ukyou, who grimaced. This whole process was making her uncomfortable. Why on earth couldn't she simply challenge Tarou to a dual and fight it out with him?  
  
The eunuchs then hauled her upright and away, out of the room and down a silent, richly carpeted hallway. Ukyou didn't fight them at first, glad to get to where she wanted to be. She was feeling slightly apprehensive at the thought of seeing Tarou again, but that was outweighed by the sense of completion of the goal she had set herself. Finally, she would prove her family wrong; show the world that she, a woman, could claim vengeance as easily as a man.  
  
As they walked, she became more and more aware of the sensation of the metal balls rubbing together deep within her. They caused an nearly uncomfortably wet warmth to pool between her legs, and Ukyou began to walk unsteadily as the balls made her more and more sensitive. She wanted to stop and retrieve the balls, but reaching into herself with guards was unthinkable. Finally the eunuchs brought her into a large, spacious room. The room held a huge four-poster bed, and a copper tub filled with steaming water. One wall had doors leading outside to a garden.  
  
The eunuchs untied her wrists and retied them separately to an iron bar set high in one wall. They left her legs loose, which Ukyou thought was a mistake. Nevertheless, here she was again, bound and in Tarou's power. Ukyou clenched her hands around her bonds. No, it couldn't happen this way. Not AGAIN. She twisted, but the lightest movement brought the balls to rub against her already sensitive flesh, and Ukyou let out a strangled squeak.  
  
The room was quiet after the men left. Ukyou struggled futilely with the wrist ties, but the ropes were strong. Next she tried pulling at the bar. She pushed against the wall with her feet and wrenched, doing her best to ignore the little balls, her muscles standing out in slim definition. No way was she going to wait around here for Tarou to put his large, callused hands on her again. Those hands were so strong, she remembered with a quiver of fear.  
  
"That bar has held stronger men than you, my sweet."  
  
A frisson of fear went through Ukyou unexpectedly. She turned her head to see Tarou closing the door behind him. She watched with mounting fear and rage as he approached her slowly, admiration plain in his silver-green eyes. He looked like some predator on the prowl, his muscles sliding smoothly as he walked, his eyes intent on his prey.  
  
"You!" she breathed. She had expected him, but why couldn't Khaitan cut her a break just this once? Why couldn't someone else torture her for a change?  
  
Because you walked willingly, even eagerly into the mouth of the dragon, you fool, an inner voice berated her. You thought you were strong enough....  
  
Tarou allowed his gaze to rake Ukyou from the creamy swell of her bosom, linger on the green draped curves of her waist, and stop finally at her bare toes poking shyly out of the swirling hem. Approaching the bound princess, his eyes took in her hair swirling in silky locks to her hips. Desire slammed into him. His body hardened as he watched the playing out of a thousand fantasies come true. Oh, yes. He'd imagined her like this, especially after seeing her at Genma's palace. Had imagined her bound, helpless, her femininity and vulnerability obvious in the soft, clinging material that draped her. Had imagined her hair unbound again, as it had been that night of revenge, when it had flowed around him in shimmering waves as he'd ravished her innocence in an act of savagery, ignoring her pleas.  
  
Seeing her whirling weapon, her obvious skill in the fight at the palace, he had been unable to believe it was the same weeping girl he'd left in Cantos over a year ago. But Ukyou it certainly was.  
  
"You were expecting me, weren't you?" he said, pleased by the look of fear in her eyes. Yes, she'd fought like a demon in the marketplace, but here he had stripped away her weapons and she was his to tame as he chose. Tarou grinned wider at the thought. "I knew you would come looking for me, for revenge." He walked closer until less than a foot separated them and quirked a haughty eyebrow. "I knew you would look lovely in green."  
  
Ukyou swung her legs up in a kick, but he nimbly caught her ankles, pulling them up, sliding them about his waist in an unbreakable grip. In rising horror, Ukyou saw her skirt ride up to her thighs, watched as Tarou clamped hard fingers into the soft flesh of her thighs to keep her legs up. The feel of his large hands on her made the princess shiver inwardly. Her position was getting more and more uncomfortable. Tied to the bar as she was, gravity pulled at her arms, straining her shoulders painfully.  
  
"Ah ah ah," Tarou shook his head, smiling. "These tricks won't work on me, Ukyou."  
  
"Tell me, my lord, did you ever think about who betrayed your position that night to my brother and my fiancé?" she demanded. "Do you really think it was an ACCIDENT that they came upon you both?"  
  
Tarou frowned. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"When Tsubasa died, he left no heir, and he was his father's only heir. His land was without a lord!" Ukyou tried to explain. "Genma, Ranma's father, found it very easy to take control of the land once YOU had cleared the way for him......."  
  
Tarou crooked a skeptical eyebrow. "Did you cook up this fantastic story on the way here, Ukyou? No one knew my sister and I were on the road that night........No one but my father, and he would NEVER betray me. Leave off this foolery and take your punishment like a woman."  
  
"You're the vilest creature to ever walk this world, Tarou!" Ukyou cried. "You've ruined my life, my honour and my womanhood, and I'm here to extract my vengeance from your hide!"  
  
Tarou threw his head back and laughed. When he looked at Ukyou again, she saw genuine amusement shining in his eyes.  
  
"And how are you going to do that, little one?" he asked. He moved forward and released her legs, allowing them to fall back but standing so close she couldn't do anything with them. They were wobbly anyway, and she was relieved to ease the strain on her arms.  
  
"You can't fight me the way you are, sweet Ukyou," he pointed out, laughter dancing in his dragon eyes. Damn him. Ukyou wished she were free for only a minute. That would be enough to show this arrogant horse-herder that she was no mere girl to be abused and tossed aside. Tarou's eyes captured Ukyou's gaze as his hands caressed her arms from shoulders to wrists. Ukyou trembled, and cursed her traitorous body. "It's too bad that your revenge didn't succeed, dear Ukyou. Now you pay the price of even trying."  
  
Ukyou gasped as he pressed against her. Her sensitive nostrils caught the Arun prince's scent as he leaned in, a musk of leather and spices and the tang of cold steel. His arms imprisoned her ribcage, his lips descending to skim her collarbone. She was caught in a prison of Tarou.  
  
The prince's fingers caressed her jaw, tilting it so he could access the soft skin beneath her ear. She shivered again as his lips sent electric currents through her. His fingers glided up her waist, and closed around her breast, feeling the soft weight.  
  
"It's going to happen, Ukyou," Tarou growled against her neck. Tension thrummed through him. He wanted to lift the princess' skirts and take her there, up against the wall. Well, what was stopping him? "It's going to happen, and you can make it hard, or you can make it harder. It's your choice."  
  
He reached for the hem of her skirt and slid his hand up her thigh, intending to part her folds and perhaps ease the pain just a little. In astonishment, he touched her folds and discovered them wet. Now that he was paying attention, he could smell her desire perfuming the air. Imagine that. She wanted him as well. Tarou could not have been more astonished if Ukyou had smiled and flirted with him. He slid a finger into her all the up to the first knuckle. Ukyou gasped and tensed, but Tarou's attention had turned to the two silver balls his finger had encountered enclosed within her. The explanation for Ukyou's readiness became apparent to him. The balls were a little toy used to stimulate some of his women when he pleased. He hadn't thought to use it on Ukyou, a captive.  
  
Slowly, a devilish grin curled his lips. Bless that Sikri! This could be fun. Knowing what he now knew would make things more interesting. As he thought about it, he allowed another finger to slide into his captive, making her shriek and jump. He stroked her softly, then boldly, and Ukyou began to squirm in his arms. Oh, this was too good for words. The Cantonian princess he had raped and abandoned had followed him up here for revenge, all the while never guessing that her body would betray her so cruelly at such a crucial moment.  
  
"Ukyou," he murmured, slanting a glance down at her. His captive gazed up at him blankly, unseeing, her pupils enlarged with desire. Then her gaze focused and she glared at him, obviously ready to let loose another barrage of insults. He forestalled her.  
  
"I'm not going to take you unwilling, Ukyou," he said, hiding a grin. Ukyou stared, confused. Oh, what an innocent she still was, his pretty princess. "I'm going to make you beg me to take you."  
  
Ukyou stared at him openmouthed. Then her foot caught him in the shin, and she yelled, "Beg? I beg you? You're insane!! I will never, never......." Tarou grinned and inserted a third finger into her, grazing the soft flesh erotically with his callused fingers. Ukyou moaned.  
  
Tarou brought his other hand up to her shoulder and deftly undid the knot, allowing the loose material of the chauri to collapse and pool at her hips, leaving her naked to the waist. Ukyou tugged at her bonds in an instinctive attempt to cover herself and then glared at Tarou from eyes like emeralds, bright with anger.  
  
Oh, she was so tempting, Tarou mused in delight. And so tidy of her to deliver herself practically at his door. He teased her nipple with his thumb, plucking it softly, watching it pucker in expectation. Unable to help himself, he bent his head and began to suckle at it.  
  
Ukyou couldn't stand it. All sorts of electric feelings ran through her body, her traitorous body that was even now betraying her into this monster's hands. Her breasts begged for his touch even as his mouth brought alive red-hot wires that connected her breasts to something low in her body, making her stomach clench in anticipation.  
  
She whipped her head back and forth, thrashing Tarou softly with long locks of mahogany brown hair. The prince growled in satisfaction as the silky strands slid softly down his upper arms. She felt his fingers work at her center, touching her intimately, stroking her in a way that set her on fire that she didn't know how to put out. She wanted, needed something.......  
  
"Tell me, Ukyou, tell me what you want. Beg me," Tarou murmured against her ribcage. Ukyou shook her head wildly. Tarou's teeth lightly grazed one sweetly begging peak rising for his attention.  
  
"Tarou! "Ukyou screamed, tears springing to her eyes at the intensity of her conflicting emotions. She had never felt such things before, had never felt her body burn in this white fire. And only Tarou knew how to put it out. Only Tarou......  
  
"Dammit! No!" she screamed, "Please!"  
  
Tarou grinned in triumph, watching Ukyou's lashes quiver, wet and spiky with her tears, as he slowly removed his fingers. Ukyou felt immediately bereft and sighed as his fingers slid back into her so slowly that she tried to clench around him, eliciting soft laughter from him.  
  
"Please, what?" he asked insistently.  
  
"Please.........help me," Ukyou murmured, her eyes closed, her face turned away in defeat. She wanted to faint, to die, anything to end this humiliation. Tarou stroked her softly, not pleased with her wording. She screamed, enflamed past bearing. She felt hot and feverish, and a sheen of sweat glistened on her brow. She thought she was going mad.  
  
"Look at me, Ukyou," he said, squelching down a moment's pity for her. "Tell me what you want."  
  
She opened her eyes and looked straight into his, the confusion and desire plain in their emerald depths, the conflict between pride and passion evident. Then something in her eyes dimmed, leaving her eyes smoky with desperate need.  
  
"I want.........I'm begging you........I want you to take me," she said softly. She let her gaze drop and her head hang. Tarou felt lightheaded with desire as he watched his proud princess, broken and utterly defeated, beg him so humbly. He placed his hand under her chin and drew her head up. He leaned in and kissed her as he'd wanted to ever since he'd seen her. The first time, forcing himself on her, he hadn't been able to concentrate on any niceties. She would have bitten his lips off if he'd tried. Now, here was the perfect opportunity. Tarou slanted his lips across hers, the shock of her soft lips trembling and melting before his driving him to greater frenzy. He kissed her savagely, thoroughly, his lips and tongue exploring and claiming their moist virgin depths, running a hand through her long, soft hair. Groaning when she kissed him back, for she found some relief in even this exchange.  
  
Tarou crooked his fingers inside Ukyou and removed the tiny balls, placing them in the pocket of his vest. Swiftly, he undid the ties of his riding trousers and pulling his stiff shaft out, rubbed the head slowly against Ukyou's wet opening. Ukyou screamed, the sensations so intense and the motion so utterly sexual that she wanted to collapse. Her fists were clenched so hard that her nails made deep crescent indentations in her palms. She shook her head helplessly, fighting to stay sane.  
  
Finally he couldn't stand it any more. Tarou pushed deep into her with a single thrust, and Ukyou's vision went black. The most intense feeling of completion she had ever experienced in her life rushed through her. Tarou shuddered as Ukyou's hot flesh enclosed him like a glove, surrounded him tightly, gripping him. He pulled out and slammed into her again, making her rise to tiptoe, battering her body. She reveled in every single moment, the intoxication in her head clouding her senses as Tarou slammed into her with increasing force, Ukyou urging him on with her, wrapping her legs about him to bring him closer, and her mind began to unravel, the sensations spiralling within her as they got closer and closer to orgasm. Tarou now had one hand curled around her waist, supporting her weight. He splayed his fingers against the small of her back, forcing her closer. Ukyou felt a great tide of pleasure rising within her, growing in force and power, until it raged through her body like a tsunami, crashing against the walls of her mind and sending her screaming into velvet darkness. She was dimly aware of Tarou, his hoarse shout as he came, sending his seed deep within her. And then mercifully, she fainted.  
  
************************************* Ukyou woke slowly, feeling drained in every cell of her body. She tried to remember why, felt the wonderful soreness at the juncture of her thighs, and groaned when everything came rushing back with clarity. Oh, no. Had she really begged Tarou to take her?  
  
She heard a deep chuckle and opened her eyes slowly, knowing who it had to be. Being proved right when Tarou's complacent visage swam into view did not make her feel better at all. Why was she supine? Oh, she was lying on the four-poster bed she had seen. Tarou lay next to her, an arm slung possessively around her waist, a leg flung over hers to keep her from moving.  
  
"Ukyou, my sweet," Tarou purred, satisfaction oozing from every pore, his fingers drawing small circles on her arm. "That was magnificent. You really outdid yourself. Well, to be fair of course last time I didn't give you much of you chance to demonstrate any skills you might possess."  
  
He flipped so that he now lay on top of her, forcing her to bear the brunt of his weight. His hands began to roam as he studied her.  
  
Ukyou stared at Tarou furiously, allowing angry tears to form in her eyes. "You insult me by suggesting I might have any such skills before I was properly wed!"  
  
Tarou grinned unrepentantly as his fingers drew perilously close to Ukyou's right breast, stroking all the while. He noticed she hadn't made any moves to remove his hand.  
  
"It doesn't matter," he said, palming Ukyou's breast and caressing it expertly. "You'll gain those skills soon enough, after a month or so in my harem. I can teach you..." Here, he skimmed her stomach with his other hand and tweaked her nipple, making her twitch, ".....a lot." He saw the helpless look in her eyes and gloated as his hands moved over her at will. She looked beaten, her eyelids slipping closed in shame. He was more off guard than he had ever been in that moment, and when Ukyou's hand shot out and hit a pressure point in Tarou's throat, although his speed was greater, surprise stopped his reaction, and he fell choking to the bed.  
  
Ukyou sat up swiftly, triumph gleaming in her eyes. She knew she only had moments, and even now Tarou's hand was reaching for her. His superior strength and speed would capture her easily, and she refused to allow that to happen again. Her fury grew as she considered the man who had abused her repeatedly till now. To think she had ever had any pity for him.  
  
"My brother should have killed you when he met you, and left your headless corpse in the desert," she hissed as she looked around for a weapon. The glint of a small dagger at Tarou's hip caught her eyes just as his arm flexed and his hand came up, imprisoning one wrist. With a cry of rage, Ukyou pulled out the dagger with her free hand and plunged it into Tarou's side.  
  
"This is my revenge, you bastard!" She screamed. He didn't release her so she pulled the dagger out and stabbed him again. He twitched slightly, and released her arm, glaring weakly at her.  
  
"You should have believed me about Genma," said Ukyou with mixed hatred and regret, scrambling off the bed. "I am the only person who never meant you harm. I am the last person you should have hurt. It doesn't matter. I'll make sure I kill him myself." She ran for the doors to the garden, leaving Tarou's motionless body in a growing pool of blood.  
  
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Well, whatcha think? Tell me tell me!!! :D 


	14. Kunou Explains

Yes, I haven't updated this for ages, but I was simply stuck. No muse, no writing. But all your poke-poke-get-off-your-ass reviews finally made me remember what I was writing about, especially those last 10 or so reviews. Thanks, guys. So this chapter is for the pushy ones. :) It's not very long, but it's definitely part of the main plot-arc, as you could call it. Hopefully I'll be able to finish this story soon.

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I know how it is when an author picks up a story after ages- you go, oh yeah, what was that about? 

**What has gone before -**

Jin and Jiya are twin desert cities that have been fighting a long war. The war is still going on when the king of Jiya dies, and the prince, Genma the Vicious, assumes the throne. Genma steals another noble's fiancee, Nodoka, and marries her. Nodoka gives birth to a girl, Kasumi. Genma, furious, attacks the queen but is stopped by his courtiers. 

Across the desert, to the west, young King Kuno of Dara sits brooding on his throne. Mousse, his advisor and sorcerer, and Kuno meet with Happosai, the leader of the Arun tribes of the desert, and convince him to attack Jin and Jiya.

Genma now has three daughters, and is also waging war against the Arun nomads. His councilors persuade him to exchange his youngest daughter, Akane, for Ranma, the crown prince of Jin. They say that if Genma promises to make Ranma the heir to Jiya by wedding him to Akane, then he can raise Ranma as his own son.

Ranma and Akane meet when they are seven. Ranma has been brought up very harshly by Genma but he fascinated by Akane. He kisses Akane before she leaves.. Happosai meets with Kunou, who is plotting to make the engagement between Ranma and Akane to take place.

Ranma and Genma train at the Jusenkyou oasis. They are cursed. Akane comes to Jiya to be formally engaged to Ranma. Ranma wants to tell her about the curse. Ukyou interrupts and fights Ranma.

Meanwhile, Tarou, Mousse and a large contingent of guards ride to Jiya to storm the palace through an insider. They attack the palace, ending in Ranma, Ukyou and Akane fighting side by side. Tarou recognizes Ukyou, and we learn that his sister Kodachi was raped and left for dead(but not killed) by Iori, Ukyou's brother and he raped Ukyou in revenge.

Mousse is looking for Ranma, but Ranma turns girl and escapes Mousse's magical amulet. Mousse goes off to hunt for him. Ranma, Akane and Ukyou team up- the first two to look for Nodoka, and Ukyou to look for Tarou.

Genma is a prisoner.

Ranma,Ukyou and Akane travel to Dara, a city made of mysterious black marble, encountering Cologne and some adventures along the way. Genma escapes using his panda form, and goes after Ranma, as well as Kuno.

Mousse  falls into Jusenkyou, and starts back to Dara.

Nabiki, Kasumi and Nodoka escape their captors and head into Dara.

Tarou has reached Dara, and is waiting for Nodoka and daughters to arrive, but U arrives first, attacks him, and all hell breaks loose. R and A end up in the kings' harem place, where Shampoo is a courtesan. Ukyo is captured and raped by Tarou, but she escapes and leaves him for dead. 

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Kunou sat impatiently on his throne, which in turn was mounted in his royal palanquin. Mousse had not yet returned from his mission to capture Ranma and Akane, the keys to his freedom, and Kunou hated waiting. He would pass the time in his harem for the space of an evening, and let those veiled beauties amuse him as they might. 

He glanced down at his body bitterly. Not that they could do much.

The guards stopped at the entrance to the walled harem. As men, they were not allowed past the gates. They would merely guard the harem from outside. Eunuchs carried the palanquin and Kuno relaxed as much as he could, as he passed into the perfumed gardens. The sweet air and pretty surroundings eased him slightly. The palanquin stopped.

Giant eunuchs, their muscles straining, lifted the throne out of the palanquin and bore it into the inner apartments, where a room was outfitted with a stage. They placed Kunou's throne gently upon the stage, the king still tensely sitting in it. Kunou looked around, seeing his women bowed to the ground before him on their knees.

He waved the eunuchs away, and smiled when his favourite courtesan, Shampoo, appeared before him with a plate of delicacies.

"My lord, welcome," she said, smiling. "May I feed you?"

He nodded. She popped a Turkish Delight into his open mouth, and he chewed and swallowed, enjoying the relish.

The eunuchs closed the doors behind them. They were deaf and could not be summoned until a harem girl went to call them. Now, his women would look after all his needs.

"What show have you prepared for me this evening, Shampoo?" he asked.

To his surprise, she bowed again.

"Actually, my liege, someone requests an audience with you," she said, her forehead still touching the ground.

"An audience…?" Kuno barely had time to murmur before a steel dagger appeared at his neck and a muscular arm at his throat.

"The word is actually 'demand', I guess," a voice whispered in his ear. "You really don't have much choice."

"Who…?" Kuno wondered, forgetting to worry about his own safety. How had someone scaled the harem? It was so tightly guarded.

The speaker came around the throne to face Kuno, the dagger in his hand still menacing. Kuno gasped with recognition.

"Ranma!" he cried.

"What?" Ranma was shocked. Did Kuno recognize him?

"You're here, at last," Kunou said, smiling. "I'm so happy to see you. I…" He frowned, and looked around. "I hope Akane is with you."

"I'm here," Akane said, before Ranma could demand an explanation. She stepped forward from the crowd of veiled women. Ranma glared at her over his shoulder. He didn't want Akane exposing herself to danger unnecessarily until he figured out what was going on. Akane glared back.

 "So you are." Kunou's obsidian eyes glittered with excitement. Then he closed them. "No doubt you have many questions."

"That's what we're here for," Ranma said, still angry but confused. Kuno hadn't shouted for his guards or tried to attack them at all. 

Kuno gestured to his women with his gloved hand.

"Ladies, please leave us." The women melted away, all except Shampoo who slid unnoticed behind a curtain. Kuno didn't notice her. All his attention was focused on Ranma and Akane.

"Is it true that you are helping the Arun nomads to fight us?" Ranma watched the king, who had barely moved. He was covered in a black silk cloak that fell to his feet.

"Yes." Kuno sighed. "You must understand, it was only for the good of your kingdoms. When Happosai attacked you, it forced your fathers to unite."

"And why would you care if our fathers united?" Akane examined the young king carefully from where she stood. She hadn't expected him to be so handsome. It was strange how pallid he was, well what she could see of him, which was one slim hand and his poetic face. The rest was shrouded in the shawl. 

"There is a whole desert between our kingdoms." Ranma frowned. "You should have no interest in us. We are not neighbours. Our cities aren't made of black marble like Dara."

Kuno sighed sadly and looked away.

"Now you come to the crux of the matter," he said. "Dara was not always thus. I remember when I was the king of a city made of sandstone and limestone like other cities. I ruled here with my queen."

"Your queen?" Akane hadn't heard of a Dara queen. "No one said you had a queen."

"No longer," Kunou said tightly. "It is a tragic tale. My queen and I ruled Dara long ago. I loved her dearly, but one day I discovered that she was in love with the Captain of my guards. I secretly tracked her and came upon her in bed with him. Furious with me, she placed a curse on me and on Dara. "

Within the folds of his cloak, Kunou slowly removed his gold glove.

"She said – Let this city turn to black marble, year by year, and when the entire city is marble, you too, will share the curse, your body growing more and more unyielding until you are nothing more than a statue!"

Stopping his speech, Kunou whisked away the black cloak that shielded him.

Ranma and Akane gasped with undisguised shock.

From his chest to his feet, Kunou's body was a carved block of black marble. The one hand that had been hidden by the glove was stiff and black, and it gleamed. Only his left hand, his face and his neck were left untouched. Ranma and Akane wondered how far up his chest the black marble had crept up. Was it even now working its way toward his throat behind his tunic?

Akane shut her eyes in horror, while Ranma kept staring.

"My queen lost her powers after casting such a mighty spell, but such was the force of her rage that she was heedless of this even as she cast it. She left me, and ran away with her lover to Jiya, where she caught the eye of the prince, who executed her lover and married her."

"The…prince? You mean…" Ranma and Akane glanced at each other in shock. "Nodoka was your queen?"

"Yes." Kunou's head was bowed. "She looks young, doesn't she? Well, a sorceress ages slowly."

Ranma was shaking his head, and Akane simply stood still, trying to take it all in.

"I can't believe you," she said.

"Why not? You disbelieve me because Nodoka is your mother?" Kunou sneered. "You don't know her at all."

"Well, she's not MY mother, but I have lived with her," Ranma said coldly. "She's incapable of harming a fly."

Kunou threw his head back and laughed nastily. "Well, what do you expect? Her powers are gone. Her lover is long dead. She has no real reason or ability to fight."

********************************************************

 Nodoka took a shallow breath as she rode through the streets of Dara, her two daughters beside her, a third probably dead on the floor of her betrothal hall, her heart's blood drying on the silk caftan Nodoka had sewed for her. That was, if she had escaped some worse fate.

The queen could feel her long-lost magic pulsing at her from every wall and brick in Dara. Her magic had turned them black and she wondered how Kuno fared, this close to the completion of the spell.

The foolish hastily-spoken spell which had wrung every drop of her magic from her. Nodoka knew she could regret that, especially on days when Genma remembered she existed, but things were the way they were.

Akane may be dead, but she still had two daughters to protect. Even with no magic, she knew more now than she had known when she'd fled Dara so many years ago. She wondered how Genma's son fared. No doubt he too was dead.

"Hey! Woman! What are you doing dressed as a guard?"

Nodoka looked up in alarm to see two marketplace guard bearing own on her.

"Oh, no it's my fault," said Kasumi, hastily tucking away a stray piece of hair undr her helmet. She quickly held hands with Nabiki.

The three of them watched as the guards advanced towards them.

There was a blur, and the guardsmen dropped like flies. Cologne carefully dusted off her walking stick and peered up at the three women. They looked familiar. The older one, the mother presumably, reminded Cologne of…

"Are you Akane's mother?" she asked.

*******************************************************************

Well, there ya go.

Oh, yeah, it's weird how my chapters are having formatting problems. I'm sorry it's taking so long to correct, but I have to go in and change each chapter by hand, comma by comma. Luckily I had a few old chapters of Tokens lying around so I was able to replace some of the earlier chapters with good formatting. I know Hearts or Diamonds has the same problem.


	15. Sealed

A/N: Amazing! After what seems like forever, I've updated this story. Now I hope you guys actually read this, since that's the reason I updated- Everyone wanted to know what was going on with Kunou!

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Akane stood within the large black crescent of the marble balcony of her room, her palms resting on the balustrade, staring out at the night sky. Far below the balcony, three pairs of guards briskly marched along the circumference of the high black, marble palace walls. Near the barracks, a captain was giving orders to a couple of recruits in a snappy tone of voice.

From a stand of palm trees, a carmeline made its traditional whistling tune, intending to find a mate.

A balmy breeze wafted through the thin material of Akane's short cotton camisole and her drawstring pants, eliciting a slight shiver from her. Akane rubbed her bare arms. She didn't know which she found more menacing – the endless guards, or the silent black walls. Dozens of scents blew in from beyond the walls, the smells of meat roasting, clay baking, the smell of sand, and water, and dung. Someone was playing music down there too. A lone tune drifted up to Akane's ears.

She pondered the events of the evening. After his revelation, Kunou had been overcome with some kind of weakness, and had ordered guest apartments for Ranma and Akane, with assurances that he would continue his story tomorrow. Until then, he hoped they would rest.

Had her blood mother really cast a spell over the whole city? Was Kunou's story true? The whole thing seemed fantastic, a city cursed to turn slowly to black marble, until even its king began to turn to rock.

Still, everything that had happened ever since she left her home in Jin seemed very unbelievable too. She'd run into a Djinn, for Khaitan's sake! And her…fiancé…was actually a man who turned into a woman when splashed with cold water!

She leaned on the parapet with her elbows, considering the situation. After hearing Kunou denounce Nodoka, neither Ranma no Akane had dared to mention that they were in Dara looking for Nodoka herself.

Abruptly, Akane felt very alone. She missed her mother and father in Jin. But even they were truly Ranma's parents, no matter what Genma claimed.

Her only ally here was her sometime fiancé, who acted very un-fiance-like a lot of the time. Akane wished she had a fiancé who was charming, and attended her, and did lovely things for her like bringing her flowers and sweets and charming toys, like the fiancés of the girls back in Jin did.

No, all Ranma ever did was argue, and fight, and scowl, and tease her mercilessly when he was in the mood. She sighed.

There was a whisper of sound behind her, and Akane swung around, reaching for a non-existent dagger. Damn, it had been taken from her. But it turned out that she didn't need it.

Ranma stood before her, a faint frown crinkling his brow. His intelligent blue-grey eyes were like aqua slits in his desert-browned face. Despite her earlier misgivings, the sight of him unexpectedly relieved Akane. He seemed so strong and capable, his white tunic delineating shoulders wide enough to carry any burden.

"Ranma," she murmured, still caught up in the night's stillness. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk," he said shortly.

He'd been caught off guard by Akane's appearance. He'd expected her to look as she had earlier, in the harem outfit. But she'd obviously bathed since then, and looked to be getting ready for bed. That would explain the thin material of the tiny blouse she was wearing. Was she even aware that he could see her breasts through the blasted thing?

Well, if she wasn't, he sure as hell wasn't going to tell her.

The material was only translucent, but enough for him to tell that her nipples had puckered from the cold. Or something else. He had to drag his eyes away from her chest when she spoke.

"How did you find your way here?" she wondered. "There are guards posted outside my door."

For answer, he looked to the side of the balcony. A thin ledge, purely decorative, stretched out along the wall.

"You walked on that?" she asked, amazed. "It's barely small enough to hold a mouse!"

He shrugged. It was easy enough for him. "We've got to talk."

"About what?" she asked, looking worried. Ranma wanted to smooth the tiny frown away. And then run his hands down her bare, slim arms.

"Our situation, of course. But we can't stay here." Ranma glanced down at the guards still patrolling below. "I was pretty quiet on the ledge, but here sound is gonna carry. And we're too visible."

"If we go inside, the guards at the door can hear us."

Ranma considered. "Come," he said, taking her by the hand and leading her into the room. Bemused, Akane followed quietly. The room smelled of the incense candles a maid had lit earlier. The music from below had followed them in, though it was fainter now.

But their destination snapped Akane out of her mild trance. "There?" she hissed. They were standing in front of the enormous bed that dominated the apartment.

Ranma hid a grin, and untied a velvet rope which sent long gauzy veils unfurling around the bed, giving it the appearance of a cloud.

"That should muffle any sound we make," he said, parting one of the veils. "Climb in." Akane stared mutinously at Ranma, who stood there waiting patiently, one arm still holding aside a veil.

"Climb into a BED with you?" she muttered. "What sort of empty-headed idiot do you take me for?"

Akane's defiance made Ranma swear under his breath. Losing patience, he grabbed Akane's arm and none too gently propelled her through the curtains. Startled, she shrieked and fell face-first amid the pillows.

"Princess Akane? Are you all right?" A guard called from outside.

Akane looked up hastily. "Yes, I'm fine," she called. "Just…slipped, getting into bed. Thank you."

She glared at Ranma. "How dare you attack me?" she hissed.

He sighed. "I don't have all night. Get moving."

She made an irritated noise. If he tried anything, she would…Wait, this was Ranma. No doubt, the thought would never enter his head. Akane scowled warningly and climbed the rest of the way in, never noticing Ranma's eyes on her pretty derriere. She made herself comfortable against two fat cushions and watched as Ranma followed suit.

"Well?" she said. Ranma took a moment to settle himself, finally placing a cushion over his lap, and leaning an elbow on it.

"Did you believe Kunou's story?" he asked.

"Which part?" She wanted to know.

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Any part!"

"Well," Akane said thoughtfully. "I can't see Queen Nodoka doing anything like Kunou claimed- turning an entire city to marble, or even being Queen of Dara, for that matter! But you know her better than I do. After all," she finished softly, "she is your mother."

"But?" Ranma watched her. His eyes had a faintly predatory gleam that made Akane uncomfortable. Was she imagining it? The bed suddenly seemed a lot smaller than she remembered.

In fact, right now even the length of a room wasn't enough distance to separate them, she decided nervously.

"But what?" She asked, losing the thread of the conversation.

"Don't give me that! I've been traveling with you for the last Khaitan-knows how long! I know you've got something on your mind."

Akane shrugged. "BUT…Kunou IS half marble. And- I've been wondering. If your mother is so long-lived as to have been Queen here, with Kunou as her king, well, how old must HE be? "

"And yet he looks so young." Ranma exhaled and leaned back into the cushions, his gaze moving up to study the rich, gorgeous canopy of the bed. "I can't believe he's lying completely. But he IS lying."

"Why, what do you think?"

"I smell a sandrat somewhere, but damned if I know where."

"Is that why you didn't mention Ukyou to Kunou when we were with him?" Akane wanted to know.

Ranma's gaze returned to her, speculative. "I notice you didn't mention her either."

Akane studied her fingers. "I was following your lead."

Ranma snickered. "As if! Pull the other leg, Akane."

Akane coloured. "To tell you the truth, I don't trust Kunou as far as I can throw him. And not even that much. And we haven't even heard his full explanation."

"I know."

"Ranma…"

"Hm?"

"Do you think Ukyou and Cologne are all right?" The last they'd seen of Ukyou, she'd been fighting off Tarou's guards alone in an attempt to let Ranma and Akane escape.

Ranma appeared to think."I've got a feelin' those two'll show up sooner rather than later," he remarked.

"If Kunou turns out to be the villain, how will we kill a man who's half stone?" Akane wanted to know.

Ranma studied her. "You ask a lot of questions. Didn't your father ever spank you for being so snoopy?"

"Snoopy?" Akane couldn't believe her ears. "I'm not snoopy! I'm just trying to get out of this city alive! It was your idea to face down Kunou. Now we're stuck in the palace with his 'hospitality' with no idea how to find out anything useful!"

To her surprise, instead of shouting back, Ranma smiled. "Actually," he smirked. "You're wrong there."

"What do you mean?" Akane asked.

Instead of answering, Ranma studied her, letting the silence stretch until Akane couldn't bear it any longer. "What?" she demanded.

"Tonight is the night of Filisefin," he murmured.

Akane sat back as though she'd been slapped. "F..Filisefin?" she mumbled under her breath. "Impossible."

"Very possible," Ranma purred. "All you've got to do is count the days since our engagement."

Akane counted frantically. The festival of Filisefin was a day of reckoning, of solidifying a relationship. It was when an engaged couple kissed each other in front of their family and friends. After that, the engagement was considered to be written in rock. Before that, either party could cry off.

Ranma was right. In Jin and Jiya, at this very moment, engaged couples were either kissing in front of their family or breaking off their engagement.

"So what?" she challenged. "We're not even officially, that is..the ceremony never completed...I mean, you said you didn't know if…"

Ranma was somehow suddenly much closer to her. "Better safe than sorry, don't you think?' he said coaxingly.

Akane found herself bending over backward as Ranma leaned over her. His hand came up to cup her cheek, and his other arm somehow slid around her bare waist, pulling her closer.

And then he kissed her. For Akane, who had been curious about this as well, it was like having the soles of her feet brushed with feathers- a completely unbelievable, uncontainable sensation.

She moaned into Ranma's mouth, and he smiled against her lips. Hell, but she was sweet. His kiss grew deeper as he crushed her mouth with his own, claiming her.The pressure of the kiss forced her head back onto the pillows, and Ranma followed. He covered her body with his own, and ran his hand up to cover one barely veiled breast. His thumb brushed across the peak, and Akane moaned again, her voice muffled by Ranma's lips. He teasingly flicked his thumb against her. She writhed beneath him.

He kissed her until heat pooled in them both, until the teasing was burned away in it and only need was left. He slipped one hand under the hem of her camisole and relished the feel of bare skin against his palm. But the shock of a warm hand on her bare breast snapped Akane to reality.

"No!" she exclaimed. "Stop!" Ranma stared at her, the hooded look in his eyes turning him into someone she didn't recognize. He looked dangerous and predatory.

"Mine," he said in a low voice, and bent his head again, ignoring her protests. Akane twisted beneath him, trying to escape, but he was very much too strong for her. He kissed her until she was too breathless to cry out.

Finally he raised his head again, breathing hard, to regard her with ill-concealed triumph. "The engagement is sealed."

Drawing in every shred of breath she could find, she said," If you don't stop, I WILL scream."

For a moment he simply stared at her, then he uttered a sound of disgust, and rolled off her. "Screaming-the female answer to everything."

Akane, gasping hard, drew her knees up, shielding herself. "If it makes you feel any better, if I'd had a dagger, I'd have shoved it into your ribs instead. Hope that's…manly enough for you!"

Ranma stared at her for a second, and then began to laugh softly. He rose from the bed, and walked toward the balcony.

Pausing at the entrance, he turned back. "Remember what I said. The engagement is sealed. Nothing on heaven or earth can break it now."

Akane shivered, and watched as Ranma walked out into the night.

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Okay, the rest of Kunou's explaination should be in the next chapter. If you want to see it, give me a review! Oooh, blackmail! :)


	16. State of Play

Disclaimer: Ranma and co. aren't mine. I just act like they are! Bwahahahaha….

A/N: Wow, as a recent reviewer said, it has been 3 years since I updated this story! That was because I lost the plot thread. But now it has shimmered alive in my hands again, and I think I see the end. If anyone is still reading this, thank you! Thank you so much.

Chapter 16

* * *

Tarou lay bared to the waist in his bed, staring up at the ceiling and breathing shallowly because the bandages around his ribs were too tight to do anything else. A whole evening had gone by after his servant had come in and, seeing his prince lying in a pool of blood, had screamed for the guards and the doctors. There had been a confusing babble of voices, and hands touching him. The pain had madehim fall unconscious, into a deep drugged sleep. Now, it was near midnight, and he'd come awake to darkness and the soft sounds of the street outside his window.

He couldn't sleep. Ukyou's words kept running through his head. Had Genma really know about his and his sister's whereabouts the night they were attacked by Ukyou's family? Of course, Genma was their enemy, and didn't owe them anything, but Kodachi had been innocent! The more Tarou thought about it, the worse his suspicions grew.

Finally, he couldn't take it any longer. He rolled out of bed with a groan at the twinge in his ribs, but the bandages were really tied too tight for the wound to bleed much. The wound…that made him think of Ukyou again, but this time, remembering her fierce face, her warrior stance, her body…how alluring she had looked in that green dress…

He shook his head to clear it. He had things to do, and needed a clear head. He was going to resolve this war, one way or the other.

A servant came in, and rushed forward, trying to push him back into the pillows. "My lord, please, you're hurt! Please lie back!"

Tarou scowled, and swiped with an arm, sending the hapless man flying. "I…need to go. I'm fine. Don't worry about me" He stood, and although the loss of blood made him dizzy for a second, eventually his vision cleared and he straightened. His servant watched from a corner, looking as though he wanted to interfere, but didn't dare.

"I'm going out, Kiro. I probably won't be back until tomorrow." He searched, found his short sword, and strapped it on before leaving the room. He swiftly made his way to the entrance of the large house, and was heading to the stables when he saw a horse and rider crossing the courtyard. It looked like one of his soldiers keeping guard at the gates.

By the time he reached the stables, the man had dismounted and was lowering his tired horse's head to the water trough. He turned and saw Tarou, brightening visibly. "My lord!"

"You come with news?" the prince asked.

The sentry nodded. "Yes, lord. The Jiyan king just recently crossed through the Dara gates. He was on a horse. "

Tarou stilled, unable to believe his luck, then reached out and grabbed the man by his collar. "The Jiyan king? Do you mean _Genma_?" The poor sentry nodded quickly. "He's in Dara?" The sentry nodded again. "Alone?" Another affirmative. Tarou released the man.

"Show me where he went."

* * *

Mousse flapped his wings and flew above the crowds milling at the Daran gates below him, all of them waiting to enter the Black City. He couldn't be bothered to wait down there with the chattel. Of course, being Kunou's right hand man would have given him instant access, but it had been impossible to carry clothes in his duck state, and it would be hard to explain to the guards why Kunou's chief wizard had been in the desert naked.

Besides, he was so close now. Close to his quarry. Ranma. Ever since Ranma had turned back into a male, it had been easy for Mousse to track his soul energy, and Ranma had made it even easier by coming to Dara. Mousse concentrated, and to his delight, the energy seemed to be coming from the north. He raised his beak. If he could have smiled, he would have.

It looked like Ranma was already in the palace.

* * *

Genma made his way into the coffeehouse, scowling at the serving maid who approached him.

"Give me some of your best sherbet, and be quick about it!" he snapped. He grinned nastily as she fled. The crossing of the desert had given him a mighty parched throat, but he was close to his goal, he knew it! If those Arun scum thought they could keep Ranma, the prize Genma had killed and maimed for, then they had another think coming!

Ranma belonged to him, to do with as he pleased. And once this was all over, he would drag the boy back to Jiya and lock him up in the dungeons for a month for allowing himself to get caught. And, he grinned evilly, he would likely give some of the boy-loving guards a chance at Ranma as well. He knew how much the boy had hated Jso. Yes, that would be his punishment for being so weak as to get captured.

Genma completely ignored the fact that he had been captured too. He found a table in a corner, and hooking his foot around a seat, pulled it toward him and sat in it, relaxing. Ahhh, it felt good to sit. He wondered if Akane was with Ranma. Unlikely. She must have been murdered back in the palace during the Arun raid. Pity. She could have used a taste of the dungeon too.

* * *

Ukyou grunted as she tightened her arm around the palace guard's neck, squeezing until he fell unconscious to the ground. Quickly, she slipped out of her green dress, and pulled on his uniform, wrapping his turban closely around her face to prevent recognition.

"I feel so much better dressed as a boy again," she whispered to herself. "There's gotta be somethin'wrong about that."

She glanced around as she pulled him under a bush and tied him up. The palace grounds were huge, and she had to find her way around. She knew Ranma and Akane were here somewhere, but where?

* * *

Nodoka leaned wearily against the horse seller's stall, tired of arguing. She was trying to buy three horses that would take her, Nabiki, and Kasumi out of Dara and into the north- the sooner the better. After hours of searching, she'd finally found a stable that was within her price range, but it was too late. The horse seller insisted that he couldn't sell his horses before morning, and she didn't have enough money for a decent bribe AND the horses.

"Very well, I'll be back at first light," she growled. The horse seller bowed to her, and closed his stall window in her face. She sighed, and walked out.

Cologne was hopping down the street towards her on her stick, a look of deep discouragement in her face. "I've been asking everyone for hours," she said. "I've been everywhere, but no luck. I have no idea where to find Shampoo."

Nodoka felt as though her own discouragement was reflected in Cologne's face. She sighed again. "Come, let's go find some supper. Kasumi and Nabiki will have found some at the inn."

Cologne nodded and fell inbeside Nodoka.

Walking back to the inn, Nodoka was lost in thought, the familiar scenes of life in Dara flowing around her. Here a woman was locking up her courtyard door, chattering to her servant. There, three men stood chewing tobacco and talking about the day as they sipped their cheap sherbet. A flower seller sat slumped in a doorway, sleeping, using her nearly empty flower basket as a pillow.

The sight brought a quick rush of memory to Nodoka, and she stopped. Uncertainty hit her, but she was staying till dawn anyway. Another few hours were unlikely to matter.

"Cologne."

"Yes?" The tiny old woman hopping beside her looked up with sad eyes.

"I think I know a way to find Shampoo."

* * *

Kunou's body was carefully arranged in bed, but he couldn't sleep. It had taken six men to carry him there, as it usually did. He stared at his left hand, wondering when it, too, would turn to black marble like the rest of his body.

At last, Nodoka's bloodline was in his reach! It was time for the prophecy to be completed. Tomorrow, he would regain his form and get revenge on Nodoka and her clan! His plans were coming to fruition.

He raised his head as the doors to his apartment opened without warning. Mousse, dressed in long white robes, his hair falling in two black wings down his shoulders, entered, his head bowed.

Kunou smiled. "Mousse! You've returned from Jiya. How was the Arun raid?"

"It was very successful, as I am sure you already know, my king," Mousse purred. "Most of the Jiyans were captured, or were killed. A few ran away. In fact, I can sense Ranma's essence within these walls."

"Yes, he's here," Kunou answered. "He's my guest, as a matter of fact, along with Akane."

Mousse jerked his head. "Akane is here? Ranma is your GUEST?"

"That is correct. It seems they discovered I had set the raid in motion, and they raced across the desert to demand answers. How delightful. Such determined youngsters."

"And what did you tell them?"

"The truth, of course! I explained my sad condition to them. They don't know what to think!"

Mousse regarded Kunou with unease. "The truth? All of it?"

Kunou threw his head back and laughed. "No, dear boy. The truth, like sweet wine, can only be imbibed a little at a time."

* * *

The next morning, Akane woke up to soft knocking. The unlikely feel of soft cotton sheets beneath her made her spring up. Then she remembered Kunou and his palace. And Ranma's visit the evening before. She touched a finger to her lips, remembering. The memory made her flush, and she shoved it from her mind.

The knock sounded again, and a veiled maid servant dressed in a white vest and filmy harem trousers entered, carrying a tray.

"Good morning, my lady," she greeted Akane, dipping her head respectfully, and placing the tray on a small table. It contained a large covered dish, a silver pitcher and a silver tumbler. There was also a large envelope propped against the pitcher.

Curiosity pinched Akane, and she lifted the envelope. "What is this?" she asked.

The maid shook her head. "I'm sorry my lady, I don't know. All I know is that it's from the king. But I've brought you breakfast."

Akane ripped open the envelope and scanned the contents quickly. She read it again, more slowly.

"The King of Dara, Kunou Tatewaki, requests the pleasure of your company at dinner tonight, to complete his tale. Ranma Saotome is also invited."

Akane thought quickly. "Can I go out of my room during the day today?" she asked the maid.

The maid shook her head, and looked toward the slightly open door. Akane looked as well, and saw that the guard was still posted. "Very well," she said. "I accept, if Ranma does."

* * *

Well well well...whatis Kunou going to tell them? All the little chess pieces are gathered...it's time to put them into play!Roja.


	17. Fish or Cut Bait

A/N: Now I remember why I stopped writing this. The reviews for this story, while always appreciated, are like the gems on a miser's ring- precious, but few in number. Oh, well. I think there's only one or two more chapters after this one, and then this story is done!

By the way, I've tried placing breaks in here to show changes of scene. Let me know if it doesn't work.

* * *

_Chapter 17_

Cologne looked around curiously as she hopped down the cobbled street on her gnarled staff, her long white hair flying behind her. It had been a good twenty minutes since breakfast, when she and Nodoka had started their journey. She'd noticed that the broad avenue they had started from had narrowed into a well-used commercial street filled with hawkers and ware-sellers of all kinds. The horses carrying riders looked harder-used, less well-fed. The street got narrower and dirtier, with side streets of different breadths weaving away into the distance. They had large, ornate street signs at the entrance to each street- 'Street of Beggars', 'Street of Coppersmiths', 'Street of Thieves'…

Beside Cologne, Nodoka walked nonchalantly, looking around her. The Jiyan queen seemed to have shed her worry and fear this morning. Or perhaps she had just forgotten it. Cologne had the sense that the queen was seeing familiar sights, long forgotten. An air of contentment had enveloped her, and she walked with her shoulders back, arms loose and swinging, nose up as though inhaling the scents around them.

"Have you been to Dara before, O Queen?" she asked. Nodoka had refused to tell her much about her idea to find Shampoo, but at this point Cologne was willing to go along with just about anything.

Nodoka glanced down at the little old woman beside her. "Yes, I used to live here," she replied. Her answer was absent-minded. She was thinking back to the last twenty years spent in Jiya, avoiding her home city, living with a demon that masqueraded as a husband and human being. She briefly clenched her fist. If only she still had her power! Genma would have seen a different woman then!

She turned melancholy as she thought of Ranma. Poor child, forced to war and worse under Genma, and raped by his demon lover. She applauded Ranma for killing the man. And now that Akane was with him, promised to him, perhaps...

They turned the corner into one of the tiny side streets, and Nodoka was assaulted by memory.

Cologne glanced up at the sign as they passed. It said 'Street of Flower Sellers'. A thousand flowery scents suddenly hit Cologne's nose, and she inhaled sharply. She recognized many of them, but even more were a mystery. They all blended into one exotic scent that perfumed the street. They traveled further into the warren of homes and women and girls with baskets balanced on their heads, with streams of flowers spilling from them.

Nodoka led the way into a small courtyard, where a few girls sat on steps, threading flowers into garlands and chattering away. At the edge of a fountain sat an old woman, her wrinkled fingers swiftly needling flowers onto a wooden frame.

She glanced up when they entered the courtyard, and her eyes narrowed in speculation, then widened in shock. The wooden frame tumbled from her fingers.

"Nodoka?" she whispered.

Nodoka glided forward, a wide smile on her face, her hands outstretched. "Hello, Hari. It's been a long time."

"It's been twenty years! And you don't look a day older!" They embraced, the tall queen and the tiny aged flower seller.

"Yes, well, you know that can't be helped," Nodoka murmured as she withdrew. "I've come for your help, Hari. We're looking for a girl, who came to the city a year ago, looking for her fortune. I know you see everyone in the city. Your flower girls go everywhere."

"I can try, but there are thousands of strange girls coming into the city," Hari said, sitting back down on the lip of the fountain. "Can you describe her to me?"

Cologne came forward. "Her name is Shampoo. She is my grand daughter. She's about your height, and has long purple hair, and large brown eyes. She is very…buxom."

Hair frowned as she thought. "Purple hair, eh? That should stand out. I myself haven't seen such a woman, but most of the girls are out and about already. I will circulate this description among my girls as they return, and let you know."

Nodoka thanked Hari and gave her their address. As she led Cologne away, the old woman wondered if this was the turn of luck she had been waiting for.

* * *

Tarou watched from the shadows as Genma rather drunkenly exited the coffeehouse he had been patronizing. He'd kept watch all night, making sure that Genma didn't leave. He'd dispatched the sentry with quick orders when he'd seen that Genma was getting ready to leave.

He wanted to attack Genma, but out here, in the bright daylight, it would be too obvious, and someone would call the city guards.

Instead, he crossed Genma's line of sight as he crossed the street, seemingly engrossed in what a hawker was selling. The chill on the back of his neck told him that Genma had spotted him. He casually walked further, window shopping. After a few minutes, he picked up a silver mirror and examined his reflection in the polished surface. Yes, Genma was still behind him., staring at him like a vulture that couldn't believe its luck.

Tarou moved on. He walked a long and winding path down the street of wares, turning absently into smaller sidestreets, until he reached a wide sun filled alley that nevertheless stopped at a tall brick wall. He stared up at it, and turned around to see Genma drawing his sword.

"_You_! I knew it was you!" Genma grinned ferally. "The spawn of Happosai! I thought you would be dead by now!"

"And why is that?" Tarou asked. "Is it because you told the Cantos prince and Tsubasa where to find and ambush me and my sister?"

"Yes, but they should have killed you immediately, instead of simply raping your sister and displaying your half-dead body like a trophy in their hall!" Genma spit to the side with hatred.

Tarou's hands clenched. His short hair blew in the sudden breeze.

"Then why don't you come for me?" he purred quietly. "And finish the job?"

"I will, pup! This is your _death_!" Genma roared and rushed Tarou with his sword drawn, like a bull galloping toward the enemey with plunging horns .

Tarou dug his heels into the ground to meet the charge, and the sound of steel clashing rang through the alley as their swords bit into each other. The enemies sprang away, circling each other, looking for an opening in the other's defense.

Genma used his ape-like strength to whale away at Tarou, the power behind each blow pushing the young prince's heels back further and further in the hot sand. But Tarou was more agile, and he managed to dart past Genma's attack. He was strong too, and his biceps strained as he met the assault of steel with his own weapon. His leather vest grew wet with sweat.

But Genma was tiring too, as the minutes ticked by. The day grew hotter and hotter as the sun rose overhead. The wound from Ukyou's dagger was also beginning to throb, and Tarou had an uncomfortable feeling that the wound was bleeding through the bandages, but soaked with sweat as he was, he couldn't tell.

At last, a ringing blow from Genma sent Tarou flying to the ground, and Genma pressed his advantage, but Tarou twisted at the last second, and slashed at Genma's calf. Genma fell, but fisted his hand in the sand and threw a handful into Tarou's eyes, blinding him. Tarou staggered backward, blinking, and Genma leapt forward grinning to slash Tarou's arm from bicep to elbow.

Tarou leapt backward, and turned the leap into a spin, swinging and slamming the back of his sword into Genma's skull.Stunned, Genma fell, unconscious, the sword falling from his hand.

Around his fallen form, the shadows of Arun soldiers gathered, commanded there by their prince. They began to swiftly tie him up.

Tarou stood there, gasping from the exertion, blood running freely down his slashed arm.

* * *

Cologne, Nodoka, Kasumi and Nabiki sat in the inn all day, waiting for news from the flower sellers. Cologne was watching the sky turn to dusk when there was finally a knock on the door.

A young girl of fourteen or so stood in the hallway. She looked nervous.

"You be the ones looking for the purple haired girl?" she asked.

"Yes!" Cologne hopped forward agitatedly.

"Well, I seen a girl like that…I do the palace rounds you see. Well, a couple of the wings anyway."

Nodoka felt a chill go through her at the news.

"She's in the palace?" Cologne gasped. "What is she doing there? Is she a maid?"

The girl smirked. "Nay, she be in the king's harem."

Cologne froze. "She's a courtesan? Oh no!"

Nodoka wanted to say "I'm sorry about this, Cologne,but my daughters and I have to go." She wanted to turn away from Cologne's worried face. But this wasn't chance, she knew. The palace was pulling at her tos tay. Dara itself was pulling at her. She had to face her fears...

Cologne turned to Nodoka and her daughters. "The poor child! I must rescue her!"

And Nodoka knew her fate was sealed.

* * *

Ranma watched as Akane entered the large dining hall where he and Kunou awaited her. She'd been given a dress, something long, soft and light blue, with bare arms and tinkling glass and metal bangles. Her hair had been washed, and combed, but it was too short to be tied up.

He himself had been given a new vest and a pair of loose trousers gathered at the ankles. Kunou's generosity made him uncomfortable, since they still didn't have a clear idea of what he wanted.

Akane drew close to the large table set with cutlery and candles. She was ushered into a seat, directly across from him. Ranma watched her throw a glance his way in greeting, then look apprehensively at Kunou. His insides clenched. _I won't let him hurt you, Akane. That's the promise I made last night. I won't let anyone hurt you._

Kunou sat at the head of the table, watching them with his large, dark eyes. He gestured expansively with his living hand.

"Welcome!" Kunou tonight was dressed in a long rich robe of dark blue, the cuffs a brilliant gold, stitched with gold and silver thread. The robe was closed, so neither Ranma nor Akane could see how far the marble had crept up, but he had left off the golden glove, and his marble hand lay on the table like a paperweight, black, solid and gleaming in the lamplight. Akane repressed a shudder.

"I'm sorry that you were feeling ill," she murmured, as servants began to serve a clear soup around the table.

"I do apologize for my absence," Kunou said. "This is a difficult condition to live with." Akane and Ranma glanced at each other, wondering what to say. Kunou had sicced the Arun nomads on their kingdoms, but looking at his frozen body sealed their throats.

"How did you meet my mother?" Ranma asked finally, taking a spoonful of the soup. It was very good.

"Ahh," Kunou leaned back. "It was a long time ago. She was the daughter of one of my nobles. i saw her at a wedding, and I was instantly captivated."

Yes, thought Ranma bitterly, Nodoka seemed to inspire that feeling in men.

"We had many years of married bliss together." Kuno's eyes had taken on a faraway look, as though he was thinking on happy memories. "Until she betrayed me."

There was an awkward silence.

"How was your soup, Akane?" Kunou asked gently.

Akane gulped. "It was wonderful," she said, and that was true. But enjoying her food right now, while wondering what Kunou was about, was a different story.

The servants took away their bowls, and replaced them with platters of a creamy salad, and racks of roast lamb.

Akane picked at hers as Kunou began to tell them a story of life in the palace. Ranma, she noticed, ate wholeheartdely. Perhaps he wasn't worried. But no. That visit last night had told a different tale. She blushed as sshe remembered Ranma bending her backwards into the bed, kissing her...

The lamb was very good, and before she knew it, Akane found herself pleasantly full. The servants came to remove their plates, and brought platters of sticky sweets that Kunos' guests could eat, and bowls of scented lemon water in which they could dip their fingers to cleanse them.

Kuno, Ranma and Akane were sipping Rishian coffee from tiny silver cups, when Ranma returned them to the subject of his curse.

"So, Kunou, tell me again how helping the Arun attack us would help your curse," he demanded.

Kunou turned to regard Ranma stiffly. "As I said, having the Arun massing at your foothills made it necessary for your fathers to unite. And I needed them united."

"But why?" Akane cried, leaning forward so that her palms were pressing against the table's edge.

Kunou scowled. "This is not common lore, but a sorceress may only birth daughters to carry on her magical line. Nodoka herself is descended from a long line of sorceresses. When she put the curse on me, she had to place a way to break it. No curse is complete without an accompanying way out. It's the nature of magic. And Nodoka used one of the more common ones used by sorceresses.

"Only the blood from a son of mine, she said, can break the curse. You can imagine my despair. I didn't think she would ever have a son. But I knew it wasn't impossible. No 'out' ever is. And when she married Genma, I crowed with triumph. My spies told me of Genma's obsessive need for a boy child. When Genma's ministers switched you and Akane, I knew my solution was close at hand."

"So you think I am the son?" Ranma asked. "I'm not even her blood."

"But you have been adopted by Genma and Nodoka as their offical son, have you not?" Kunou asked. "However, I do have a back up plan," he admitted. "In case your blood doesn't work, I have a cask of Jusenkyou water ready with which to splash Akane, as she is certainly of Nodoka's blood. She will become male, once splashed. It will be interesting to see which of you are the solution."

Akane was getting woozy from Kunou's explanation. She shook her head to clear it, and frowned. "Our blood? How much blood?"

Kunou smiled. "Oh, my dear, all of it, of course."

Ranma leapt to his feet. "No! No way. Is that why you tricked us into coming here? I won't let you hurt Akane!" Then, as Akane watched, horrified, he clutched his middle. Kunou watched avidly as Ranma bent over in pain. "What did you do?" Ranma growled.

"I'm afraid I poisoned your soup," Kunou explained earnestly.

The wooziness returned to Akane, and she trembled as a black cloud overtook her vision and she collapsed onto the table.

* * *

So there you have it. Kunou's trap is sprung! What will happen to the prince and his fiancee? Review, if you want to find out! :)


	18. Own Flesh and Blood

A/N: Once in a while, reviews come through that are so uplifitng, so inspiring, that I just want to go ahead and write for those readers just so they can read the next chapter and get some satisfaction! They've earned it.

Thank you, everyone, for reviewing the lprevious chapter so well. I'm happy to say that this is the last chapter of 'Tokens', and as you can see by the lengtt, I sat in one place until I finished it!! It took me longer than 3 years to write this story. Wow.Thanks so much for sticking by me all this time.

This chapter is dedicated to all y'all who have waited and waited for a writer to update, and waited in vain, and who write such awesome fulfilling reviews that it can force some of us off our uninspired asses to WRITE! :)

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Chapter 18

Akane awakened unwillingly, but some sudden sense of urgency made her open her eyes. The sight she saw overhead nearly caused her to cry out. Ranma dangled from the ceiling a few feet away, his wrists wrapped in rusted chains that twisted and turned from the ever-present black marble, above. His head was slumped against his chest, his braid hanging wetly against his neck. A steady drip of blood snaked down his leg and dripped into a cauldron beneath his feet. The cauldron, Akane saw, was placed in a pentagram on the floor.

A woman with long black hair stood with her back facing Akane. She was dressed in a white robe, , staring up at Ranma. Low chanting was turning the pentagram a glowing blue star.

Akane blinked and looked around. She was in a dungeon, she saw. Guards stood at the entrance and at posted places, silent. Kuno's chair sat in one corner, mostly facing her. Kuno looked eager, she noted. The light from the pentagram set an eerie cast to his face, hollowing his cheekbones. His live hand was clenching and unclenching against the arm of his chair. Akane herself was tied with chains to a rack set in the floor, she noted with rising panic. The only good thing was that Kunou and the woman hadn't realized she was awake.

Who was chanting?

Akane automatically wrenched at her manacles, then cursed her idiocy, because they heard the unmistakable clink of the chains. The woman turned to look at her, and with a jolt, Akane realized that it was a man. He was the one who was chanting. He didn't stop, even as he stared at her. Akane shuddered. He seemed…evil.

"Stop this!" she demanded. "Please, just use the blood you already have. It should be enough. Or take mine."

Kuno shook his head. "I don't want to take any chances, Princess Akane. It has to be all. Mousse, keep going."

"Noooo…" Akane pleaded. She wrested with her chains, and although she was strong, they were stronger. Eventually, Mousse and the king turned away, bored by her struggles. She tried a while longer.

"Ranma!" she cried out. "Please, wake up!" The bound figure above her didn't show any sign of life.

"I suppose I can help you out there," Kunou murmured. "He isn't bleeding fast enough." He gestured to a guard, who quickly reached out and slashed Ranma's thigh with a quick swipe of his sword. Ranma jerked, but didn't raise his head.

"No!" Akane screamed, her eyes filling with tears. She shook with fury, remembering another time when she had seen Ranma tied up and bleeding. They had been seven. And she had promised she would rescue him. She'd promised!

She lowered her head and wept.

"Akane…"

The whisper came so softly she lost didn't hear it.

"Akane…" The voice was coming from behind her.

Akane didn't raise her head. She opened her eyes and used her bowed head to hide her actions. She darted a glance behind her left arm, where a pony-tailed shadow hovered.

"Ukyou?" she whispered disbelievingly.

"Yeah," came the soft whisper back. "I'm here to help you. Don't look at me, idiot!"

Akane kept her head down, and couldn't feel anything for a while, even though she knew Ukyou was working on her bonds. But relief raced through her. They weren't alone!

* * *

Nodoka stopped in a palace corridor, the black marble walls hidden with gorgeous tapestries.

She had sent Cologne on her way once they were in through one of the secret entrances she'd known about. Cologne wasn't part of her fight. And fight she must. She knew that destiny had been pulling her back to Dara, to Kunou, and she must face him. Cologne was here to find Shampoo, and so Nodoka had pointed her in the direction of the harems. She silently wished the old woman luck. She herself must find Kunou.

How she was going to face him without any magic, she didn't know. But she could feel him, somewhere here. His life force throbbed malignantly in her mind. The pull had gotten so strong since she'd entered the palace that she was easily able to let it carry her along, and in fact so forgot herself that she nearly slammed into the two men guarding the sturdy wooden door that led down to the dungeons.

"Who are you?" one demanded, stepping forward, not recognizing her. "No women in this part of the palace!"

They caught her arms, and Nodoka furiously fought free of the binding web of Kunou's presence in her mind, too late. She cursed her luck.

"I…I got lost," she muttered. "From the harem corridors."

"You should never have strayed!" the other one barked. "The king doesn't like his women to wander." _How true_, Nodoka thought ironically as she struggled. The men began to wrestle her to the ground.

"Please stop harassing the lady," came a quiet voice.

The two guards looked up in unison, as did the struggling Nodoka. A frisson of shock ran through her, and she blinked her eyes. Surely, she must be seeing things. _He_ couldn't be here.

Tarou, the Arun Prince, stood behind them. He walked softly forward, his slanted dragon eyes pinning the two hapless guards. "Let her go," he said.

Nodoka shook her head. The last time she'd seen him, a few days ago, the young prince had been running amok in her palace in Jiya with his desert tribesmen, fighting and destroying the palace, taking her people prisoner. What was he doing _here,_ in Dara?

"You know me," Tarou said. "I've come to see your master, King Kuno, often." The guards only tightened their hold on her, staring at Tarou suspiciously. "You're the desert prince," said one, hesitantly.

Tarou merely curled a lip. He blurred into action, his sword moving like a scythe to cut the two men down. The guards didn't even have time to pull their swords from their sheaths. Seconds later, he gently lifted the surprised Nodoka to her feet.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

Nodoka pulled away. "Why are you helping me?" she demanded. "Your people have been attacking us!"

Tarou went stiff. "Things haven't been as they seemed," he replied regretfully. "If I'm correct, I owe you my apologies for attacking your palace."

"What do you…?"

But Tarou held up a hand. "We don't have much time. I assume you were trying to find King Kunou? If he's in the dungeon, I'll escort you."

Nodoka didn't think much about being escorted into Kunou's dungeon by her erstwhile enemy, but with her magic gone, there wasn't much she could do about it. And the urge to confront Kunou was getting stronger.

As they went down the winding staircase, Tarou wondered how angry the queen would be if she knew the unconscious body of her husband was tied up and dumped not too far away.

* * *

Kunou's body stirred in his chair, whatever that remained of him as flesh, that is.

_It can't be…_

He shuddered. _Not after all these years…._

The door to the dungeon swung open, and dim light poured into the shadowed room. Akane froze, unable to believe her eyes. Nodoka stepped in, her skirts still held high from descending the stairs. She looked regal and tall- the queen she had been for so long.

"Mother?" she breathed.

Guards quickly surrounded Nodoka, blocking her way.

Nodoka ignored them. Her gaze quickly took in the tied and bleeding Ranma, Akane, and Kunou.

"Nodoka…." Kunou whispered, eyes wide. "It's been so long."

"Kunou," she nodded. She didn't show it by word or expression, but somehow Akane knew that Queen Nodoka was terrified. _What are you doing here? How can you face him?_

No one noticed the dark, braided head rising, the slow stop of bleeding.

"You are trying to release yourself from the curse, aren't you, Kunou?"

Kunou's face grew enraged, and his one normal hand tightened on the armrest of his chair. "Why shouldn't I? The cuckold of a queen left behind to die with his city! Why shouldn't I save myself?"

"Your memory seems selective, dear king," Nodoka said, raising her head proudly. "Have you forgotten how you yourself kept concubines?"

"My right! Not yours!" he screamed. "Guards! Hold her!"

The guards pressed forward, but suddenly there was a slim figure in a green vest in front of Nodoka, scimitar raised and gleaming.

"Tarou!" hissed a furious voice from beside Akane, even as the chains tying Akane's wrists loosened.

"Tarou?" Kunou looked confused. "Why are you fighting my guards, fool?"

"I've been having some interesting conversation with Genma, Kunou," Tarou drawled as he whipped through the guards. "Heard how he contacted you a while ago, when he captured an Arun man and found out that my father was your pawn. Heard from Genma's own lips how you and him made some land deals."

"Heard.."Tarou's slashes grew wilder. "..how you sold..." and wilder. "...my sister and me to Cantos, so that Genma..." He slashed the head off one guard with one swipe, and turned to glare at Kunou. "...could get the kingdom of Jira! Your own allies! You betrayed us to the enemy!" More guards attacked and Tarou was forced to hold them at bay.

Kunou looked faintly displeased. "Allies are meant to be used in the most useful way possible. You're throwing a tantrum for no reason, Tarou!"

Tarou ignored him and began to fight back the guards, allowing Nodoka to slip past them and walk towards Kunou, who glared.

"I won't let you stop me!" he shouted. "Any of you!" He spoke a word, and sudden flames flew from his live hand to scorch the air before Nodoka. She fell back, choking.

"Mousse has been giving me lessons in sorcery, my dear," he purred, and smirked as Nodoka clutched her throat. "What do you think?" He spoke another word, and lightning sliced through the air, cutting Nodoka's arm, sending blood spilling.

"No! Stop that!" Akane, chains loosened, flew across the dungeon to stop squarely in front of Nodoka, facing Kunou. "Don't hurt her!"

Mousse, his chanting done, turned to help Kunou. He sent a shower of ice to lock Nodoka's feet in place, so she couldn't escape.

* * *

Ukyou, hiding behind the rack, saw what was happening and cursed. Akane would soon be next. She hadn't saved the princess to have her go down under that long-haired magician! She darted out from behind the rack and fell on Mousse, uttering her battle-cry. She pulled her spatula out of thin air and whacked him with it, sending him flying.

Yes! It felt so good to fight back! But before she could gloat further, Mousse rose to the fight, green eyes gleaming. He sent a shower of ice that locked Ukyou's feet to the marble floor. She knocked it off with her spatula, and jumped at him, using the jump to mask her shurikens flying through the air. They hit his arm, drawing blood. He hissed, and uttered a word. Ukyou's spatula went flying through the air. She cursed as he reached her and backhanded her, sending her flying.

Her head hit the ground and she cried out. Stars swam in her vision. Mousse reached her and taking advantage of her stunned state, picked her and threw her across the room.

This time though, she landed against something slightly softer. Arms came around her and pulled her up into a sitting position.

"Stay here," commanded a low voice.

Ukyou blinked her blurred vision into focus, to see that Tarou was in front of her, swinging his sword against Mousse. The magician smiled. "So, you're betraying us, Tarou?"

Tarou snorted. "If your head weren't so far up your ass, you would see that I was simply rectifying my earlier mistakes. But talking to YOU is a waste of time, Mousse. I never liked you. "

Mousse frowned and murmured a word, but nothing happened.

"My sword is enchanted against magic, Mousse," Tarou explained with a grin. Mousse scowled. Then he smiled. He whipped his hands, and two huge iron claws came flying at Tarou.

_Oh, shit_, thought Ukyou uncomfortably. _Now who should I root for?_

* * *

Akane kicked the ice around Nodoka's feet but it was rock hard. She picked up a nearby sword and began hacking at it. A burst of power behind her sent her flying into Nodoka, who screamed as she fell over, and the ice kept her feet locked. Agony seared through the queen's ankle.

"OhKhaitan!I'msosorry!" Akane leapt off Nodoka. She spun around. Kuno was firing up another blast, and Akane barely managed to duck as it came flying her way.

She didn't notice as above her, cracks appeared in the ceiling. The cracks all ran from the epicenter of chains in the ceiling. Something shook the chains, and more cracks appeared.

Akane knelt, panting. Kunou had gone completely red in the face. He was mad, she thought. But at least she had drawn his fire away from Nodoka, she thought. She looked down, trying to catch her breath. A glowing blue line ran past her knee. She was in the pentagram, she realized. And idea began to germinate in her head as she stared at the glowing blue line.

"You will pay!" Kunou shouted, and let loose another blast, but this time at the trapped Nodoka.

"No!" Akane screamed, and fell into the path of the blast…her arms crossed in front of her. It was futile, she realized. She wouldn't have time to try out her idea. She was going to die. NO!

Blue light blazed around her, shielding her.

And then died away. She looked up. Kunou looked stunned. So was she.

Had she…?

Just shielded herself?

With magic?

No time to think about it. Before Kunou could react, she stood and raced toward the cauldron in the middle of the pentagram.

"You want to be human again so bad, Kunou?" she screamed. She lifted it by the lip and hauled it around, sending the dark red liquid within arcing across the room. "Here you go!"

Ranma's blood splashed Kunou in a warm, wet arc, spotting his hair, his face, his clothing, sending a great swath of it across his body, like paint.

Immediately, he began to scream. He threw back his head and howled, so crazily that every single person stopped fighting and turned to stare. Kunou used his free hand to pull off his robe, and everyone stared as the black marble melted away, revealing human flesh.

But it wasn't just him. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, began to leach black, showing stone, wood, iron- anything but marble.

* * *

Elsewhere, in Kunou's harem, Cologne and Shampoo broke their embrace, aware that something strange was happening. They looked around, shocked, as the black began to bleed down the walls, leaving them white sandstone.

"We should get out of here, grandmother," Shampoo commented.

"That's a great idea, Shampoo. But I think we had better find Nodoka first."

In the dungeon, Kunou stood for the first time in decades, grinning manically. "I'm flesh again!" he marveled, staring at his hands. They were both now the same. HIs bare torso was pale flesh. Only his legs, hidden by loose pants, were hidden. But they obviously were flesh and bone, because he was standing.

He laughed aloud. "Mousse! It worked. Now kill them, and this whole sorry episode will be over!"

"You evil man!" Akane gasped.

Kunou pulled his sword and approached Akane. He was quite tall, she noticed. "You, my dear, can be my new queen, if you want to live." She shuddered. "No?" He shrugged. "Well then, your loss." He brought his sword back to slash her. There was a loud crack from the ceiling. Kunou, uncaring, swung the sword back toward's Akane's neck.

Something stopped it.

A shadow blurred before him, and Ranma suddenly appeared between them. One of his chains was wrapped around his wrist and he'd used that to block the blade. Ranma's eyes were hidden beneath his bangs. He was bleeding from several cuts and had already lost a lot of blood. But the dark aura that emanated from him sent a chill through Kunou.

Ranma raised his head, and Kunou took a step back at the glinting fierceness of the prince's gaze that was focused fully on him.

"I told you…I won't...let you hurt…Akane!" Ranma growled. Kunou sprang backwards, disengaging his sword.

"Ranma!" Akane exclaimed, so relieved to see him and yet so worried by his condition.

"Stay back, Akane. You saved my mother. But I'm gonna finish this!" With that, Ranma sped toward Kunou, who also attacked. They met in mid air with a clash of chain and sword. Sparks flew.

* * *

Tarou and Mousse, meanwhile, spun in a circle, fighting. Mousse was injuring the prince with his hooks. They flew out of his sleeves, slashed sideways, and even Tarou's superior speed was slowed down after fighting with Genma in the hot sun.

When Tarou finally saw his opportunity, he worried that it was almost too good to be true. They were nearing the rack to which Akane had been chained. Mousse didn't notice, though, busy as he was trying to impale Tarou with his hooks.

Tarou spun through the air, over Mousse's head. Now that he had been hit so many times with the hooks, he could tell the instant they flashed out, and how long they took to snap to their full length. He timed it. He ended his spin by landing on the rack, and paused for a split second. The hooks rushed toward him. Before gravity could pull him down, he pushed off again, and the hooks wrapped hungrily around the rack, their barbs harmlessly scraping over its iron frame.

Just for a moment, as Mousse realized his mistake, he was trapped, and Tarou used the moment to land behind him and run his scimitar through Mousse's chest. Mousse's eyes widened and he slumped to the ground, his hooks still wrapped around the rack.

* * *

Ranma and Kunou flashed towards each other again and again. Akane watched, afraid to interfere in case she cost Ranma his attention and he made a fatal mistake.

Ranma was amazingly fast, as she remembered. But he had lost a lot of blood.

Kunou was stiff after so many years without moving, but he had cunning.

They parried and fought, until finally Ranma used an aerial kick to the head to send Kunou flying. Kunou landed on his back, rolled across the floor, and finally landed on his stomach, the breath knocked out of him. In a flash, Ranma was on his back, the chain looped around Kunou's throat, tightening until the links were digging deep into his neck and Kunou began to turn blue. He struggled, but his struggles grew weaker.

"Give it up," Ranma threatened hoarsely. "It's over, you bastard." He pulled the sword from Kuno's strengthless hand and tossed it into a corner. Swiftly, he looped the chain around Kuno's wrists.

He looked around for something to tie Kunou's mouth with, in case he decided to try another spell.

"It doesn't matter, my son. His magic is gone."

Ranma looked up to see that Nodoka had gotten to her feet. She still looked slightly groggy, but there was something new about her, or perhaps something that had been missing, but which now made her whole. She was glowing slightly.

She lifted her hand to stare at it. "Kunou has lost all his power. It has returned to me."

"Mother…" Ranma murmured.

Akane knelt shakily beside him. "Ranma, are you…okay?" She laughed. "I mean…are you hurt? I mean…" Sh ran a hand over his shoulders gently.

Ranma's grey gaze softened as he stared at his fiancée. "I'm fine, Akane."

He looked back down at Kunou, and pulled him to his feet. "Get up, asshole. I hope you're happy with your body, because you can enjoy it in prison."

He opened one of the cells in the dungeon, and tossed the dazed Kunou in.

* * *

Tarous pulled his scimitar out of Mousse' cooling body and stood, wiping it on Mousse's robe to clean it. He sheathed it and knelt beside Ukyou, holding out a hand.

She glared at him, and rose without help.

"I saved your life," he said. "I hope this makes us even."

"Go screw yourself!" she spat at him, thinking his tally was definitely off.

Tarou bent his head. "You were right. About Genma. I should have listened to you. He wasn't so tough when he was the one being tortured. He told me...Kunou had contacted him for some sort of deal…where they would both benefit with land…" He huffed a breath, and looked pleadingly at her. "I'm sorry, Ukyou."

As Ukyou stared speechlessly at him, Ranma's voice made him turn. "Tarou!"

The two princes sized each other up.

"Since you helped my mother, I'm assuming you're not on Kunou's side, anymore," Ranma ventured.

Tarou nodded. He looked slightly ill now. "I'm very sorry about all this. I should have paid more attention to what was going on. I apologize for attacking Jiya, and I'm offering remuneration in return."

"Remuneration, huh?" Ranma huffed. In his opinion, the prince had done a lot to mitigate the damage he'd caused. And Kunou would doubtless have attacked them whether Happosai helped or not. "Let's talk."

The princes led the way up the stairs.

Behind them, Akane supported a dizzy Ukyou. Nodoka followed as though in a daze.

Akane turned her head. "Are you all right?" she asked Nodoka.

Nodoka smiled at her. "Yes, but there is so much power building up inside me. After being a part of the city for so many years, it has grown…" She trailed off as she raised her hand. The glow was much stronger now. "I need to ground myself."

Slowly, they all climbed into the light.

Ranma, leading the way, walked out of the entrance, and froze. Tarou walked into him, pushing him onwards. He saw what Ranma had been staring at, and froze as well. Akane and Ukyou entered more slowly. Akane's blood chilled when she raised her head.

Genma stood there, grinning like a sand-jackal and weaving slightly. No doubt, the wound on his head contributed to that. Behind him stood fifty of his men, armed to the teeth.

"Ranma! My son! At last, I found you!" He walked forward and grasped Ranma's braid in a painful tug. Ranma yanked his head back, glaring with distaste.

The men began to surround them. Akane sagged in disbelief. Ranma stiffened, terror surging through him at the thought of being taken back to Jiya by his foster-father. It wouldn't be a pleasant trip, he could tell.

"I thought you had left the embrace of your father, my boy!" Genma cried joyfully. Yet the joy had a dark side to it. "I'll never let you out of my sight again!"

"Where…?" Tarou began.

Genma turned to him, and gestured. Immediately, two guards kicked Tarou to his knees. The Arun prince let them. They were all outnumbered.

"Ha! Yes. I had men following me to Dara. I left first because I didn't really think I wold need them, but it looks like they came in useful after all! Eh, Ranma my boy? We'll go home in grandeur." And he patted Ranma's face.

"Get. away. from. me." Ranma growled, the urge to kill Genma surging in his veins like the tide.

Genma's caress turned into a fisted punch to Ranma's cheek that was sudden in its viciousness. "Let's try this again, boy," he said silkily. "Remember OUR dungeon? Oh, yes, I know you do…"

"Leave him alone, you monster!" Akane flew at Genma, getting in a solid kick in the ribs before the surprised king sent her sprawling with a fist.

Ranma growled, tensing to spring, even though his wounds were beginning to drip again…

"Genma… "

Genma's gaze flew up in surprise. A figure approached him from the back of the group. One he recognized, yet the posture looked different. It should be more stooped. _She_ should be more cowed.

Though any other king might be relieved and even ecstatic to see his wife after their kingdom had been attacked, Genma's mind followed a different path. "Nodoka…" he drawled. "Are you still alive? I've been hearing stories about you and the king of this place, Kunou. It looks like some punishment might be in order for you, dear wife."

Nodoka regarded Genma with a straight gaze. "Genma. For years I trembled under you." She raised her hand and it trembled as though she were illustrating her words. "No more."

She poured the excess power she had received into the startled king, and before their eyes, he began to turn. Black marble crept up his torso, his chest, and his neck. His eyes widened to horrified realization before they, too, glossed over, unseeing, and the former King Genma of Jiya stood as a marble statue in the palace of the former King Kunou.

Nodoka turned politely to the armed Jiyans. "Anyone want to go next?" she asked.

As one, they dropped their arms.

"She did say she needed to ground herself," Ukyou commented in the stunned silence.

_

* * *

_

Two weeks later

The caravan that left the gates of Dara was small, but light-hearted. Ranma and Akane rode on horses in front. Ranma, who had fainted from loss of blood after Genma's statuefication, had been patched up and fed lots of fried liver and goat stew to replace the blood., and Akane had fading bruises on her face and arms, but they smiled at each other shyly as they rode. Their pack camels were driven by guards.

Ukyou rode beside them. She was only going with them as far as Cantos, where she would split off and make for her home. Her father had a lot that he needed to be told. The entire power structure in the land of Sidon had changed with Genma's death, and change was good.

She didn't look to her left, where Tarou rode his own horse. The prince was coming with them to call off the massive tribal encampment outside Jiya's borders. At least the war with the Arun would be over. They had called an uneasy truce but that didn't mean Ukyou wanted to be in his company. Every time she looked at his hands, or his strong mouth, the oddest shiver went through her, and she wished herself far away from him.

Nodoka, Kasumi and Nabiki also rode with them. Nodoka had to straighten out things in Jiya, now that she had turned its king to dead stone. They'd placed Genma's statue in the central fountain in the city, where birds pooped on his marble head.

Cologne and Shampoo had stayed behind. Nodoka had left Cologne temporarily in charge of the city, after making her the Grand Vizier, for all her help.

The first night back out in the desert, Nodoka approached Akane. "You have powers," she said. "You're of my line, after all."

Akane stared at her own hands. That blue shield...She shook her head. "There are a lot of things to do when we get back home. I'm not really interested in developing it at the moment," she said. "Maybe someday..."

Nodoka nodded. "I understand."

"I do have one question, though," Akane ventured.

"Yes?"

"Kunou said you needed to leave him an 'out' when you cursed him. But..for Genma, you didn't..."

"Genma will never come back," Nodoka replied shortly. "The crimes that Kunou and I committed against each other were equal. He cheated on me, and I cheated on him. The curse I laid on him was so vast that it needed a way to end it, else...But Genma...well."

Akane understood. No one could ever be equal in crimes to Genma.

* * *

The trek through the desert gave the group time to observe, and they noticed with interest the particular attention that the Arun prince paid to the Cantonia princess. Not that they ever talked. But when they camped, Ukyou's bowl was always filled with food first. Her tent was always set up first. Her horse was rubbed down quickly and magically. Ukyou ignored all this. And if she smiled to herself once in a while, it was so secret no one saw it.

And there seemed to be an unspoken agreement among everyone to return to their tents and let Akane and Ranma stay out the latest, when the campfire was dying down into embers. And if it got cold and Ranma made Akane cuddle with him under his blanket for warmth as they stared into the fire, or looked up at the cold stars, then no one saw fit to complain, least of all Akane, who was quite happy where she was. They didn't talk much.

It took them a few days to reach Jiya. Ukyou broke away first, returning to her home city. Ranma and Akane were sorry to see their long-time companion leave.

"Please come to visit often,"Akane pleaded.

"You were a stalwart friend," Ranma said with quiet appreciation.

Ukyou blushed. "Thank you for helping me bring to light the mystery I was chasing. My enmity with Jiya ends with Genma. I hope all our cities can now be friends."

She whispered something in Akane's ear that made the other girl blush, and then after hugging the women and a wide wave, she galloped off.

Tarou broke away soon after, when they came within sight of the Arun tribes. He and Ranma had spoken of how their respective peoples might benefit one another, and Tarou was set to make a trip to Jiya to discuss trading prospects, so they would be seeing him soon, yet parting felt melancholy all the same.

The palace in Jiya was still in the middle of repairs when they arrived. They were greeted with great joy. Explanations followed. Stunned disbelief, then slowly growing relief and joy spread, when it was announced that Genma had regretfully been killed in the fighting. And that the Arun would be retreating. Peace treaties were discussed.

The councillors, especially Kalamari and Tofu, began to discuss among themselves how quickly they could crown a new king. Kalamari had a few days where he went on to his room and fell to his knees to thank Khaitan that all his plans from when Ranma and Akane were borne had borne such excellent fruit. Whether Nodoka or Ranma took over, the kingdom would be in good hands.

Ranma would never have believed it, but it felt good to be home. Especially without Genma. A few days passed as he and Nodoka made administrative decisions, setting the palace and the city back on track.

He was watching the city from one of the balconies one day when he heard soft footsteps behind him.

He turned, to find Nodoka watching him.

"Mother," he said in greeting.

"My son," she replied. She came forward, and although he was now taller, she reached out and hugged him, hard.

"Mother?" Ranma asked, puzzled.

"I'm so proud of you, Ranma!" Nodoka leaned back and stared at his features. His blood had saved Kunou. The universe said he was her son. And Akane was her daughter. She was so blessed.

Ranma smiled. "What is it?" he asked.

"I'm going back to Dara," she said.

Confused, Ranma pulled away. "Really? You won't just let Cologne run it?"

"Dara is my home," she replied simply.

"What about Jiya?" Ranma asked.

"You will have to stay and rule here." Nodoka saw Ranma's grimace, and continued," I know it has unpleasant memories for you. We've all suffered here. That's why Kasumi and Nabiki want to come with me to Dara. But you..I'm afraid you have to stay and rule."

Ranma's look turned thoughtful. "I suppose I wouldn't mind…as long as…"

"As long as…?"

Ranma smiled and disengaged from the embrace, but he didn't reply.

* * *

Akane sat beside one of the palace pools, throwing bread into the water, watching as the ducks within snapped up the crumbs and fought each other for them. This area was quiet and serene, a sheltered green oasis of trees, shrubs and pools in the desert.

"Bored?"

Akane turned around, heated anticipation turning her stomach gooey. "No. Content."

"Really?" Ranma descended down the path and sat down next to her. "Even with no crazy king trying to kill you, or Cyclops trying to eat you?"

Akane shuddered. "No, thank you. All that business is over, and I'm quite happy that way!"

"Not all of our business is over." Ranma leaned back to lay his head against his arm on the grass. He closed his eyes against the sunlight.

Akane crinkled her brow. "What do you mean? Kunou's safely imprisoned…"

"I mean…" Ranma's eyes stayed closed. "You and I have unfinished business."

Akane's heart began to pound. She remembered the night in Dara. She began to pull away quietly, but Ranma's free hand shot out and unerringly wrapped around her wrist.

"You and I made a deal," Ranma continued, sounding as though he were talking in his sleep. Akane tugged lightly at her hand, but there was _no_ give. "We sealed our engagement with a kiss, and now you have to marry me."

"_Have_ to marry you?" Akane asked lightly. "I don't know…"

"My mother is leaving for Dara, and so I need you as my queen if I'm going to be king. I won't treat you like Genma would, if that's what you're worried about." Ranma's eyes shot open, and his eyes were trained on her. "I'm not like him."

Akane frowned, even as the words 'my queen' sent a tiny shiver through her. "Of course you're not! If anything, you should worry about me, since I'm his blood."

"You're nothing like him, either, thank goodness," Ranma said, frowning up at her. "If I've learned anything over the past few weeks, I've learnt that. You are beautiful and strong, Akane, and when you stepped outside that carriage that day when you came to Jiya for our engagement, I just wanted to hold you and carry you away."

"Away?" Akane asked, bemused. "Where?"

"Somewhere private."

He tugged her down sharply, so that she lost her balance and fell against his chest. She could fell the beating of his heart under her fingertips. "I wasn't very sure about this engagement to start off with, you know," he continued. His other arm came up to wrap around her. "It's not just that you've worn away my rough edges. If there's anything I've learned in the last few weeks, it's that you make my life worth living. You always have, ever since we were seven, and you told me you would take my burdens if you could. After that, it was as though a part of me knew that you were out there, thinking of me.

His eyes swept her face, a small smile tugging at his lips. "A piece of my heart has always been with you, Akane, and now I think you have all of it."

Sudden tears attacked Akane, taking Ranma by surprise. "I loved you even then, Ranma! I wanted to save you," she sobbed into his tunic, hiding her face in his chest. "When we were little."

"Shhh," Ranma comforted her, rubbing her back. "You did, my love." He raised her tear-stained face as she regarded him with surprise.

And then he kissed her.

* * *

I think since I gave 'The Prize' such a mushy ending, I kind of wanted to leave this one simple. But meaningful to the story. I wanted to make sure that Akane kept her promise. Even if she couldn't save him physically, she kept him sane.


End file.
